Vampire
by Kufudame
Summary: The Black Familia is a Vampire Clan? Voldemort ending up with Regulus? What happens to Harry when he is made into a Vampire? Currently focusing on Sirius X Lucius pairing. Drarry, Sirius X Lucius, Tom X Regulus
1. V1C1 - Harry Black's Growth

A/N: Please read and review! Thank you!

The stormy rain reflected his current emotions.

Pettigrew was missing.

Sirius's heart beat in trepidation, fearing the worst. He immediately hopped onto his motorcycle, and switched on the engine. The motorcycle roared with life and flew towards Godric's Hollow.

As he flew, Sirius kept telling himself it everything was fine, that nothing could happen. But deep down inside, he suspected. Peter Pettigrew was one of his friends, and he knew how timid he was. Did he deflect to Voldemort, out of fear, even if it meant the betrayal of his friends? He shouldn't have trusted him, allowing him to become the secret-keeper.

The roar of the thunder made his body jolt. A flash of lightning followed, illuminating the scene in front of him.

It was all too late.

James was lying still on the floor, the pale skin and lifeless eyes hinting the worst.

"No, no, no, no, no!"

His legs gave way. With trembling hands, he pressed his fingers on his neck, desperately hoping to feel his pulse. There was none.

A grief-stricken howl came out of him, unable to believe his best mate was dead.

"Lily… What about Lily? And Harry?"

He got up, trying to shake away his grief and muster up all his strength to walk up the stairs. The stairs creaked noisily as he made his way slowly, every step filled with suspense and dread.

The entrance of the room seemed like the usual. It was as if the horrible nightmare didn't happen, and Sirius could imagine Lily hugging and kissing her son, like always, when he walked into the room.

But having seen James's body, he knew that was impossible. He dreaded what awaited him, knowing that this night might haunt his nightmares for years to come.

Nearing the room, he could hear a baby crying, and that relieved him immensely, for it meant Harry was alive.

Then, Lily?

Stepping in the room, he had his answer. Like James, she lay in front of the cot, unmoving and emerald eyes dull.

The only thing keeping him from breaking down on the spot was Harry's cries, a reminder that not all hope was lost. He gingerly took out Harry from the cot, hugging him closely in his arms. The warmth of Harry seemed to isolate him from the cold, brutal reality.

Surprisingly Harry was staring at him with his mother's eyes, not crying any longer. A warm, fuzzy feeling awoke within Sirius, the desire to protect this child.

"James! Wha's this?!" A gruff cry, followed by a wail from below startled him. The voice sounded familiar.

Sirius peeked down the steps to see Hagrid hunching over James, body trembling in grief.

Not being very stealthy about it, the creak of the first step he took immediately alerted Hagrid to his presence.

"Who's there?!" Hagrid yelled, eyes narrowing, trying to make out in the darkness, wand pointing at the staircase. "If it's yer, Sirius, yeh better reveal yehself!"

"Whoa, whoa, wait." Sirius shouted back, "Harry is here with me, so don't do anything stupid!"

"Harry? Harry's alive?" Hagrid's eyes widened, filling with hope when he saw Harry in Sirius's arms. He lowered his wand and wiped his face streaked with tears on one sleeve. "Lily… What about Lily?" He asked hopefully.

The expression on Sirius face told Hagrid all he had to know.

"Lily… Oh the kind Lily…" He wept, tears flowing once more. "Black… How dare yer betray them?" He said between sobs that violently racked his whole body.

"I didn't." Sirius said solemnly, "Though the fault lies with me... If I hadn't, at that time…" He squeezed out painfully, face contorting with emotions.

As if sensing Sirius's pain, Harry placed one hand on Sirius cheek, comforting him. Wide-eyed and speechless at Harry's action, Sirius managed to calm himself down.

Peter had to pay for his actions, but he withheld the urge to go after him. Right now, protecting Harry was more important. The Dark Lord had somehow or another failed to kill Harry. There was no doubt he would strike again.

"Would yeh give Harry to me?" Hagrid extended out his burly-looking arms, wanting to take Harry out of Sirius's arms.

Sirius swiftly avoided his hands, turning his body away from him. "What do you think you're doing?" He threatened in a voice low and menacing.

Hagrid seemed shocked at Sirius's behaviour, face quickly arranging to keep his fearful expression down. "It's… It's because I had orders, from Dumbledore… to bring Harry, if alive to him."

"Dumbledore…" He was the one who had proposed the Fidelius Charm, and also their professor whom Lily and James trusted a lot. However, Sirius was not one to take orders simple-mindedly. "Where did he instruct to bring Harry to?"

"That's…" Hagrid wavered a while, but Sirius gaze compelled him to answer. "Lily's sister. They're muggles, but they're able to protect Harry using blood wards."

"Lily's sister… Petunia?" Sirius's brows furrowed together, and searched his memory. He remembered Lily mentioning about Petunia avoiding her due to magic, occasionally sending snide remarks of how a freak she was, that she wasn't normal. Their relationship had drifted off, Lily never mentioning Petunia again once they had graduated from Hogwarts.

Hearing Dumbledore's plans for Harry, Sirius sure as hell didn't want Harry to end up there.

"I was named his godfather. I'll take him into custody – not Petunia." He proclaimed, eyes flashing strongly. Hagrid swore he saw a bit of red in those black eyes of his. Fearful of him, Hagrid stepped back a few steps.

And while Hagrid stood there dumbly, Sirius took off to the sky with Harry in his arms, leaving Hagrid to look helplessly at his back.

…

Dumbledore's idea of using blood wards had gave him an idea. Magic that used blood was often powerful, and most of the time, irreversible. To protect Harry, he would give him his blood that was spelled to make Harry become his real son, a blood bond of sorts.

Sirius prepared himself for the pain and slit his wrist in one deep gash, pouring his blood into a cup. Once there was an appropriate amount, he healed his wound, and picked up his wand, flitting around in complicated motions.

The blood glowed once, before returning to its original state, an indication that the spell was done. Sirius carefully poured into a baby bottle and fed it to Harry who drank it all at once.

Once emptied, the spell immediately had its effect. Harry's appearance was slightly altered to become more aristocratic. Basically, with sharper features.

Sirius could not contain his joy having seen Harry's transformation. Harry was now his real child, and his only heir.

Years passed with Sirius raising Harry outside of Britain, not wanting Harry to be exposed to his fame that was too much for a young child. Due to being under blood wards, not even Dumbledore had found out where they lived. The Black Family had many mansions under their name, after all.

The day that the Hogwarts letter arrived in post, Sirius determined that it was time to tell Harry about the identity of his previous parents, and the fame he was likely to receive. The wizarding world literally treated him as their saviour, despite the fact that he was barely one year old when he defeated you-know-who.

Harry looked at him with incredulous eyes, gaping as he tried to process what he had just heard.

"So I'm the boy-who-lived?" He spoke difficultly, unable to wrap his mind around it. "Why are you only telling this to me now, dad?" He spoke in a frustrated tone, brows furrowing deeply. Despite the anger shown on his face, it could not destroy his prominent looks that could easily make a girl fall for him.

Sirius smiled wryly, ruffling Harry's black hair, and Harry's anger dissipated in a flash. He hated how his dad did it so easily, but seeing his father's guilty expression, he couldn't fault it against him – he was weak to only father in this world, after knowing his previous parents had died.

"It's time for you to go out to the world." From his pocket, he held up the letter between his fingers, "This is the Hogwarts acceptance letter, the school I've always talked about."

Harry's emerald eyes twinkled in anticipation. He had always heard about his dad talking about the fun he had during his school period, and could not wait to start school. Being tutored in the mansion was interesting, but he did not have any close age companions.

"I know you're excited, but remember these few things – I don't forbid you from flouting the rules, but don't get caught." He winked, remembering his Marauder days, causing Harry to laugh. His parent was cool with such things, different from the others.

"Next off, whenever Voldemort is concerned, be cautious. If things are out of your hands, ask for help – be it your friends or professors. Hell, even Snape. I heard he had become one of the professors." He said, scrunching up his face, "Though he might still harbour a bit of a grudge from our old days…"

"Your fault, dad." Harry was quick to point that out.

Sirius rubbed the back of his head, displaying a bit of sheepishness. "I know, I know… I'll apologise to him when I have the chance. The last, but not the least…"

"Is our vampirism, right?" Harry cut in, rolling his eyes in desperation. "I know that already. Since young you've been telling me that I cannot tell my tutors about it…"

"Why did I always tell you that?" Sirius questioned seriously, testing his son of his knowledge.

Harry sighed and the words rolled off his tongue easily, proof that he was confident of his answer.

"Because we Vampires are different from humans. We possess speed, power, and highly effective blood magic that others cannot have."

However, glancing back to his dad, Sirius looked unsatisfied with the answer.

"That's only half correct. Think. Our weakness?"

Harry thought for a while, wrecking his head for an answer. "Is there any? Blood?"

Sirius nodded, satisfied. "That's right, our craving for blood. Vampires have been shunned because of their lust for blood, and also their indiscriminate attacks on the innocent humans for centuries. But the Black Family is different. Due to our powerful magic flowing through our blood, we are able to control our craving to a certain extent."

Vampires like them only need a few pints of blood every three months before they go hungry.

The next moment Sirius grinned widely, his fangs showing indiscriminately. A red lustre was in his eyes. "What if there was blood, lots of blood…" He raised his hands, sweeping over the room in an imaginary bloody scene, a litter of corpses on the floor. "Even if it were us, think of the consequence if we were to be exposed directly to large amounts of blood."

An alarmed expression showed on Harry's face. "So that means… if we're exposed to large amounts of blood, we'll go berserk?"

"Berserk… Yes, that might be one way of how you can describe it." Sirius laughed wryly. "We lose all reason, leaving only the primal urge to consume the blood. And in that state, we're particularly vulnerable, relying only on our instincts. Wizards can just off us with one spell – _Avada Kedarva_."

A shiver ran down Harry's spine hearing the chant of the killing curse. "That's…" He found himself speechless. Never did he think that being a Vampire was a disadvantage. Rather, he did like the benefits it gave, enjoying his more than normal speed walking from place to place.

Sirius gave a small smile, understanding what Harry was thinking. "But you need not worry that much. That situation only occurs if they want to corner a vampire. In reality, it's hard to do so. With our speed, we can escape before the scent of blood hit us, so the worse-case scenario hardly occurs. Still, better to be safe than sorry."

"Got it dad, I won't let others discover my identity." Harry etched it those words in mind.

"Good boy~" Sirius grinned roguishly, ruffling Harry's raven hair, giving him a messy bed-hair look. "My pup has grown up." He sighed, remembering the times when Harry was a cute toddler with rosy cheeks and bright eyes that could barely walk.

…

"How nostalgic." Sirius glanced around Diagon Alley, taking in the changes since he had last been here.

Guiding Harry to buy his school materials, they first went to the apothecary, before visiting Quality Quidditch Supplies. When Harry saw the Nimbus 2001 that was on display, he immediately dragged Sirius, demanding for it.

It was the first time seeing his son wanting something – he was indeed James child.

"You know, if you weren't allowed to play Quidditch for the first year, I'll get you this broom." Sirius said in consolation.

"I appreciate the thought." Harry said glumly, unable to tear his eyes off the broom, sighing. "Then, next year?" He turned his hopeful gaze towards his father.

"I'll get you the new model then."

That perked up Harry's mood. "It's a promise."

Only after a few minutes of Harry admiring the broom, Sirius was finally able to drag Harry to the next store, Flourish and Blotts to buy his books. The next store was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

Upon entering the store, Harry was hit with the presence of an enticing individual who made his mouth water.

"Dad." Harry looked at Sirius who was glancing into the shop, taking note of the blonde hair and hoping he was not who he thought it was. "He smells _quite delicious_." He could hardly stop the drool coming out from his mouth.

Sirius froze comically.

"Dad?" Harry tilted his head questioningly. Sirius unfroze, mind whirling of the complication it meant.

He managed to keep a nonchalant expression. "Bear it. Come on, let's go in."

The blonde turned his head in their direction, and Sirius felt faint. From his looks, he could tell he resembled Lucius Malfoy – and that meant only one thing. Luckily, Lucius was not here, or else…

Sirius shut his thoughts off, not wanting to deal with it for now.

"Hello." Harry spoke first with a bright expression to the blonde-haired boy who was around his age. "Are you going to Hogwarts too?"

"Yes." The boy looked surprised, glancing between Harry and Sirius. "You must come from a pure-blooded family. Those are some tailor made robes from _Shelly'_ _s_ ; my family occasionally have their robes tailored from them too."

From the way he talked, he seemed to look highly on their appearance. Harry supposed it was a good starting point.

Madam Malkin seemed startled hearing _Shelly's_ , face expressing her dissatisfaction while fitting Harry. He supposed Shelly was her competitor.

"I'm Harry Black. What's yours?" It was common courteously to introduce oneself first, Harry had learnt.

"Harry?" The blonde knitted his brows. "I don't suppose it's that famous _Harry Potter_?" He sneered, a hint of displeasure oozing out when he said the name. "I'm Draco Malfoy."

Regarding Draco's reaction when he said the name, Harry didn't mind it. In fact, he felt it was better if he admit straight up before things became complicated.

"Actually I am. My surname was changed because I was adopted by my godfather."

Beside him, Sirius's jaw dropped, unable to believe that Harry actually said it straight out.

Back at Malfoy, his mouth hung open unsightly, eyes bulging out for a second. However, he immediately recomposed his features, benefiting of a distinguished family of high pride.

"You're a half-blood." Voice containing venom, his eyes narrowed into slits, a complete contrast to the modest behaviour he displayed just a second ago.

Harry shook his head.

"Technically two-thirds." A small smile formed on his lips, as if mocking him.

Staring at Harry like daggers, Draco had a rising urge to wipe the complacent smile off his face.

"Two-thirds?" Draco sneered back. "That doesn't matter. You're not a pure-blood."

"Does that really matter? All that matters is how powerful one is. If supposedly someone not of pure-blood beat someone of pureblood, the pureblood standings would be lost, and that pureblood would be mocked and teased by the others." Harry's lips curled up tauntingly.

Draco's eyes narrowed.

"You think I can't beat you? Don't underestimate the Malfoy family. Our family has many ancient magic that has been passed down for centuries."

Harry mocked laughed, not at all fazed by Draco's words.

"You won't even have the chance to do that." As soon as those words left his mouth, Draco realized that Harry already disappeared from his view.

Feeling a sense of unease, Draco immediately tried to look for Harry's figure.

"I'm here." A voice whispered into his ear, and a hand gripped down on his arm that was reaching out for his wand. Shocked, Draco quickly retreated from his position.

Draco was certain he never felt his heart beating so fast before.

"Y-You…" Unable to form a proper sentence, he took several deep breaths to calm down while being on guard for any other movements from Harry.

"Don't need to be so tense, I won't do anything else." Harry waved his hands nonchalantly. "So, now do you understand the words I said?"

Furrowing his brows, Draco thought back to how Harry could just appear behind him without any warning. Not only that, Harry had even stopped him from using his wand. A slight chill went down his spine. This meant that magic was useless in front of him, especially when Harry was able to incapacitate any wizard before they could perform magic.

"I admit defeat." Seeing how Harry demonstrated his abilities, Draco knew he was powerless against him, unless he learnt wandless magic or methods to retreat quickly.

"Not bad." Harry for the first time smiled genuinely, surprising Draco. "You know when to admit defeat. And do you know your weakness now?"

Draco reluctantly nodded, before his gaze turned serious. "I'm not going to take this lying down. Be prepared."

"I'm ready anytime." Harry said helplessly at Draco's determination. He could probably guess that for the rest of the time before school starts, Draco would probably be polishing up skills to counter against him.


	2. V1C2 - The Start of School Term

September 1st, 1992

Harry Black was all set-up and ready for school. On the floor was his expandable trunk that was spelled to be lightweight, and a snow-white owl in a cage his father gave him for his birthday that he named Hedwig.

Sirius looked over his son's attire, and gave a thumbs-up. "Dashing, son."

Harry chuckled at the compliment.

"Ah, yes, that smile that will charm the hearts of the ladies… or men." Sirius whispered the last words out cheekily. "You'll be popular, son, with both mine and James blood. But you're still eleven, so take it easy, although at your age, I was already crushing maiden hearts."

Sirius laughed lightly, and Harry wearily shook his head, sighing at his dad's antics as usual.

"If you were so popular back then and even now, why are you still single?" He asked, curious.

His dad always went out occasionally. Harry suspected his dad had some one night stands, though never bringing back anyone to their house, probably not wanting him to see his affairs.

Sirius scratched his chin, eyeing Harry with a troubled look. "Let's just say… I let my love slip by me. Don't take after me in that aspect." His lips curled up bitterly, eyes flashing with regret.

"I'd never thought you had your woes, dad. You always seem so happy-go-lucky all the time."

"You rascal." Sirius growled, his hands stirring up Harry's hair.

Harry was unable stop him in time.

"Not at this time, dad!" Harry cried out in dismay. His rarely tidied hair had taken him a while to smoothen up, but his dad had foiled his efforts to look presentable.

"It doesn't matter son, you look handsome as always. Your usual look is the best." Sirius looked down at Harry, his cherished son, and felt a surge of loneliness surging upon knowing he would be separated with him for a while.

"A tip from me – Keep your groomed looks for the last. The more rare it is, the more it is a surprise." Sirius smiled with a hint of nostalgia to it.

"Another one of those so-called advice again?" Harry laughed, and clung onto his dad's arms for the side-along apparition.

The first thing that greeted his eyes were blondes. Harry stared boggle-eyed at the family who was fussing over their child, the mother, especially.

She was actually kneeling down and saying to Draco, "My dearest Draco, I would miss you so much. Would you miss me too?"

The words were so cheesy, giving Harry the goose bumps.

Suddenly, the blonde man who he supposed was Draco's father noticed their presence. His eyes shot straight towards his direction, not really seeing Harry… He realized he was staring dazedly at beside him.

His father?

Sirius had a mask on his face. Seeing his father in this way made Harry feel bewildered, knowing his father would only do this when he could not control his expression.

The first to break eye contact was Lucius when Draco nudged his father who was acting weirdly. Following his gaze, the look on his face was priceless when he saw Harry.

Immediately, realizing the state he was in, his face turned blazing red, and leapt out from his mother's embrace.

"Mom, I'm not that young anymore!" He defended himself, looking back and forth from his mother and Harry.

His mother chuckled when seeing her son's cute reaction, and turned towards Harry.

"Looks like Draco already made a friend."

"He's not my friend!" Draco and Harry shouted at the same time.

"Oh?" Narcissa laughed. "Don't need to be so embarrassed, you two. Really, the two of your reactions make me recall a certain pair that was also like the both of you." She said nostalgically, and briefly glanced at two standing in front of her.

If Harry was not mistaken, she had glanced at both her husband and his father.

His father's face had turned pale. Draco's father seemed unaffected, but in fact, he was gripping his cane quite hard.

Looks like their relationship was not as simple as it seems. Seeing both of their expressions and Draco's confusion at why suddenly there was an awkward silence, Harry decided to quickly get out of this awkward atmosphere.

Taking Draco's hand, he pulled him close and whispered for him to take his luggage. Draco who also felt the weird (?) atmosphere decided to do as Harry said.

"Father, Draco and I will be going inside to find a compartment for ourselves. It will be troubling if we aren't able to find one, so we better go now."

He nudged Draco who understood his intention, and after they both of them waved goodbye, they boarded the train.

Harry sighed in relief once they settled down within an empty compartment. The strained atmosphere just now was really suffocating.

Looking out the window, the three of them were still at the platform. He could make out that his father said something, before separating from Draco's parents. Though he couldn't be sure from this distance, Draco's father seemed to show a pained expression after his father left.

A poke at his back made him look back at Draco who was a bit frustrated.

"Now, can you tell me what just happened?"

After telling Draco all that he deduced, Draco sat in deep thoughts.

"Probably they all went to school together." Draco guessed. "My mother is a few yours younger than my father, and from your father's appearance, he looks to be of similar age to my father."

"So something happened in school… That makes sense." Harry agreed, though he thought the way they reacted seemed a bit more… complicated than it seems, but he didn't voice it out.

During the train ride, Draco gave Harry more information about Hogwarts. Some of them he had heard from his father, but others were new to him. As expected from the son whose parents both came from Hogwarts.

Draco was now introducing a few of the common families within Hogwarts.

"Weasley?" The family name sounded pretty familiar. Maybe his dad had mentioned it before.

"Yeah. Arthur Weasley works in the same line as my father. Needless to say, his position is way below my fathers's." His voice contained a trace of scorn. "Looking at your expression, you don't seem to know them."

"Yeah… well…" His father had hired many instructors to train him how to control his vampire senses and abilities, and didn't give him much information about Hogwarts. All he had were the stories his father told him.

"They're a pure-blood family, but they're a disgrace." Draco wrinkled his nose in disgust. "To preserve their blood-lines, they would appeal themselves to minor pure-blood families, and even sometimes drug them to ensure they have an offspring. I don't even know why anyone would be attracted to their red hair and freckles. Since they breed like rats, you'll probably meet a few of their offspring in school. And for the record, the majority of them go to Gryffindor."

"Speaking of Gryffindor… which house are you joining? Don't tell me you're going to Gryffindor."

"That's the house that my father went."

Sirius had briefly described to him the four houses in Hogwarts, and Gryffindor represented courage and chivalry.

"So you want to join Gryffindor?" Draco said tersely. For some reason, Draco felt that he disliked the idea of Harry entering that house. Did he already consider Harry as a friend? He himself didn't understand either.

Harry's eyebrows rose at Draco's tone.

"From the strength that you showed when you defeated me, I feel that you have the capability to go into Slytherin. There, you can have your strength polished, not like the other houses that take it slowly. Heard of the inter-house competition?"

Seeing Harry's nod, Draco continued. "Slytherin has always been the champion house for the competition. Now, this is already treated as a fact, and the only competition is other houses competing between themselves for the second, third and fourth place."

Harry narrowed his eyes. "You seem to know the reason behind Slytherin's continuous championships."

"That's right, since it's 99% confirmed I'm joining Slytherin, my parents revealed it to me." Draco smugly replied.

"Huh. Then what if the 1% happens?"

Draco's face darkened. "That'll never happen."

"…"

"So, are you going to tell me the reason?"

"That's if you are willing to join Slytherin." He had an expectant expression as he looked at Harry.

This expression… Draco seemed to be tempting him to join Slytherin.

"I thought it would be the sorting hat that sorts us into houses? How would my opinion matter?"

"The sorting hat takes into account the person's willingness to join the house."

"Is that so…"

While Harry considered Draco's offer and weighed the pros and cons, Draco's expectant gaze never left him. Seeing those eyes, Harry sighed and relented.

"You won't regret it." Draco grinned. "And since you promised to join, I can tell you the reason beforehand. Be honoured since not many know about this before joining the house." He said highhandedly.

"… right."

Ignoring Harry's remark, Draco started to explain. "Slytherin's dormitories are located in the dungeons, and below the dormitories are many practice rooms and arenas – ranging from a single person use to an arena that can fit the whole house. Practice rooms are for students to practice magic, and arena for sparing. These are for one purpose – before the interhouse competition, Slytherin will hold a duelling competition to determine the Slytherin Prince or Princess."

Oh? It sounded interesting, especially with Harry's passion for battle.

"Once the duel is lost, the loser is eliminated, and the winner rises to the top. No extra chances are allowed. The top ten of the house are awarded various prizes, such as a more luxurious dormitory room, bathing timeslots, prize money ranging from a few silver sickles to several hundred golden galleons, and also a chance to learn one specific combat magic from the current House Head. Of course, the first place not only gets all of the prizes, there is a title and also three wish-cards."

"Wish-cards?"

"It is a terrifying power that is given to the top. Wish-cards last for one year before the next duel competition. As long as the request is reasonable and can be granted, any wish is possible. However, it must be contained within the school grounds. This includes pardoning of any offence, reconstructing of the entire dormitory and also forging grades."

Harry's eyes widened comically. "Is that really possible?" He wondered how the headmaster could allow this type of leeway in the school.

Draco laughed. "They are the examples that the previous winners wished for. Hence, no one will want to offend the Slytherin Prince or Princess and always get in their good graces."

"I see. This makes the competition interesting. You're obviously going to participate?"

Draco snorted. "And you too." He could feel the intensity behind Harry's emerald eyes.

"Though I didn't get to see your skills, I can guess you're better than the majority. Especially with your family's teachings."

"Glad you realize that." Draco muttered. His pride had taken a hit when he had lost to Harry.

"How did you move so fast?" He voiced out the question he had been wondering ever since he had lost.

With a thin smile on his lips, Harry shrugged. Seeing that reaction, Draco felt a bit exasperated, knowing Harry wouldn't answer even if he continued to ask.

…

"Black, Harry!"

Hearing his name being called out, Harry stepped forward calmly and sat onto the stool, ignoring the painful gazes shooting at his back.

After he put on the strange hat, he controlled his surprise when the hat started talking to him inside his head.

"Hmm… what an intelligent mind this is. I see the spirit of mischievousness in you, and also at the same time the courageous mind-set to face whatever difficulties that may come your way. You fit the criteria for all houses, but hmm… you seem to lean towards Slytherin. Is that your choice?"

"Yes."

"Well then, your house shall be… Slytherin!" The hat shouted the house out loud, startling Harry.

There was a stunned silence, before a large cheer swept over the crowd, originating from the students in Slytherin. Harry glanced over, and saw Draco and his house mates standing and clapping furiously.

Draco was smiling brightly at him from the table.

Harry grinned back, walking steadily towards the Slytherin table, basking in the welcome that his house mates gave.

His radiant smile captured the hearts of those who looked at him.

The other house mates who were originally disappointed that Harry joined Slytherin were suddenly clapping, supporting Harry's welcome into Slytherin.

Unexpectedly receiving support from other houses, Harry and his own house mates were surprised. Even the teachers were surprised at their student's reactions.

"Looks like Harry's a natural." One of the seniors commented and the rest of his house mates laughed.

Sitting down next to Draco, Draco looked especially delighted that Harry was here. "You kept your promise. Or else, I wouldn't know what to do with all that I told you about Slytherin if you went to another house."

"Would you've…" Harry performed a cutting motion at his neck. "me?"

"Like I could." Draco rolled his eyes, recalling how Harry defeated him in just a few seconds. "But I could indirectly silence you."

Harry chuckled at that answer.

Not long after the sorting finished, the headmaster started speaking on the podium, but Harry barely paid attention to it.

…For there was currently a translucent face that was peeking out of the wall beside him.

Unlike others who would normally be scared, Harry was curious instead. He heard about the existence of ghosts, and was seeing one for the very first time.

The ghost didn't seem to notice him, staring intently at something with furrowed brows, looking particularly disturbed.

Following the ghost's gaze, it landed on a professor that was wearing a turban hat.

Just as he was wondering who that professor was, the voice of the headmaster introducing that professor could be heard.

"This is Professor Quirrell, the new professor for the Defence Against the Dark Arts! Give a round of applause to him for becoming one of Hogwart's teaching team!"

Following everyone, Harry clapped along, while wondering why the ghost looked so disturbed at the new professor.

Harry looked back to ask about it, but the ghost was already gone.

"What's wrong?" A familiar voice made him turn back. Draco looked at him suspiciously. "Is there something there?" He turned towards where Harry was looking, before turning back with questioning eyes.

"It's nothing much."

…

After the debriefing and introduction of the new additions to Slytherins in the common room, the Slytherins were given the signals to disperse.

It was right then. A girl lunged towards them with teary eyes.

"Draco~~~!" The brown-haired girl tried to hug Draco with her slender arms, but was stopped by Draco pushing back her shoulders, prying her body away from his.

The girl became more discontented at this action. "Why didn't you sit with me in the train?! I waited the whole time, you know!"

"Ah… that." Draco's eyes wavered, trying to come up with some kind of excuse.

The girl narrowed her eyes immediately. "You forgot, didn't you?"

Seeing's Draco lack of response, the girl took this as a confirmation, and stared at Draco accusingly, her gaze like daggers.

"Sorry, I had Draco to sit with me since I didn't know much about Hogwarts, and he was kind enough to explain to me."

The girl's face turned green, and turned towards the stranger who butted in. "You. How dare you make Draco do such a thing?"

"Ale—he's" But before Draco could finish his sentence, she had already stomped towards Harry, her intense amber eyes boring into him.

"You're…" After her eyes swept across his figure, mouth parted in surprise. "Harry Black?"

"Yours truly." Harry thinly smiled, his mesmerizing eyes capturing her.

She had thought Draco was already handsome but Harry's looks was probably even more superior to him. This made her stunned for a moment.

But she quickly regained her composure in a second. "Harry Black. So what?"

Draco immediately rushed in between them, facing Ale. "Ale! He's my friend!"

"Since when?! Why did I not know about it!" She stared accusingly at Draco.

"I don't need your permission to make friends!" Draco hissed hotly.

Ale's eyes narrowed in displeasure.

"Hmph."

Before she could make more ruckus, Draco immediately grabbed Harry's hand and fled out of the dungeon.

"Draco! Youuu!" Ale screamed at their back when she noticed they were running and started running after them as well.

The other house mates who were seeing this commotion felt a bit amused.

What were they doing? Playing catch?

…

"Hah…hah…" Draco panted for breath after running at his top speed.

"Are you alright?" A voice beside him gently asked.

Draco looked at Harry weirdly who didn't seem to lack of breath at all. "Yeah, just… give me a minute to rest." He said wearily, leaning against the wall before sliding down, feeling the tingling and burning sensation in his legs.

"Don't move." Harry pressed down Draco's legs onto the cold, hard floor, before biting his tongue hard. Placing a drop of blood on his forefinger, he wrote several inscriptions in the air while muttering softly.

Looking at Harry puzzledly, Draco had no idea what he was doing.

Not long after, the inscriptions became visible, glowing bloody red. With a swipe of Harry's finger, the inscriptions entered Draco's legs.

With a start, Draco realized his legs had recovered, and after testing them, he realized they were in better condition than originally.

"A-Amazing." Draco could not help but praise out loud. "What magic was that?"

Harry smiled furtively. "Blood magic, an ancient magic passed down in the Black's family. Keep it a secret for me."

Draco nodded, the feeling of respect for Harry rising for the second. Harry had not only the skills to beat him, but he also knew how to perform ancient magic.

One must know, ancient magic was not easily learnt.

In Draco's case, he had the innate talent to learn his family's ancient magic, but even till now he still did not have complete grasp of it. The more the person grasp the magic, the magic will have more probability to be summoned perfectly.

Yet, Harry had unhesitatingly performed the magic, and had also done it in such a short time.

Draco felt a loss of words towards Harry's capabilities.

"Do you trust me this much?" Draco demanded. "We've only just met a few days before."

"What do you mean?" Harry's voice was laced with confusion.

Draco frowned. "You don't seem to understand the implications of what you just did. If this were to leak out, you would become targeted in the competition. You already exposed two of your weapons to me—your speed and how you can perform ancient magic so easily. What if I told the other house mates about this?"

"…" Draco stared at Harry's motionless face, waiting for an answer.

"Well…" Harry scratched his face, "I never thought about that, but I have the feeling that I can trust you." He laughed. "Besides, I don't plan on using these two capabilities of mine in the competition and compete normally."

Hearing the unexpected answer, Draco's jaw went slack. "What good will that do?"

Harry shrugged, once again not answering Draco question.


	3. V1C3 - S & L First Meeting (1)

A/N: Here's the backstory of Sirius and Lucius!

People called him cold wherever he went.

"U-Um… Slytherin Prince." A meek voice broke him out of his concentration.

Miffed from being disturbed, Lucius had a slight frown on his face as he raised his head that was buried in the book.

Seeing his displeasure, the student immediately turned pale.

"Ahh... Ah, I'm sorry!" The student bowed down to his level.

His shoulders were trembling.

Seeing the distasteful reaction, it had completely destroyed his current mood. However, Lucius did not let it show on his face.

Realizing that the other party was not responding, the student raised his head cautiously. Seeing that Lucius's previous expression had changed to a neutral one, he quickly said the message he was asked to convey.

"Professor Shirley requests to see you regarding Quidditch!" Perhaps because the student was too tensed, his voice was higher than normal, and it reverberated throughout the quiet library.

The surroundings evidently stirred as soon as they heard those words.

Hearing the commotion, the student only then realized that he spoke too loudly.

The student apologized once more when he saw Lucius's displeasure evident on his face.

"S-Sorry! I'm sorry for all the trouble caused!"

"Enough. Leave."

"I'll leave your sight at once!" The student turned tail and walked away quickly.

Sighing, Lucius flipped the book in his hands shut and walked to the aisle, returning the book.

Of course, despite the fact that many were trying to keep a low profile, he still heard it.

"Looks like Ice Prince is confirmed to be the seeker. There's no way we can win the Quidditch Cup now. Why does Slytherin get all the glory? First the Inter-house championship, now the Quidditch Cup, they're really not giving us the chance to win anything."

"I thought we could have a go at the Quidditch Cup this year since most of Slytherin's team strength had fallen after the seniors graduated."

"Is the Ice Prince really that good? He's just one person."

"You didn't see the trial match. He caught the snitch in just a few minutes. I was there and even I had to admire his capability as a seeker."

There were countless of sighs all over the place.

Having gotten used to these types of comments, Lucius ignored them and left the library.

Like everyone expected, Lucius was given the seeker position. While the Slytherin team was overjoyed at the news, the other house teams were downhearted.

For the next week or so, the news had already spread its way through the entire school, becoming a common topic of conversation.

…

"Look, the Ice Prince is making his way here."

"Quick, greet him."

Despite the two students' greetings, Lucius did not stop and passed by them. Only a glance was given.

Those icy blue eyes seemed to capture them in place.

"Now I see why he's called the Ice Prince." One of the students smiled wryly.

"With his handsome looks, it's such a waste that he doesn't show any expression." The other female student stared at his back, admiring the long, flowing blonde hair.

Mesmerized by his figure, the two of them didn't notice the small bulge in his arms.

Walking hastily, Lucius rushed over to an isolated classroom. After making sure that no one was around, he locked the door.

"I hope no one saw you." He whispered to the creature in his arms, and lifted his robe that was covering it, revealing a white baby fox.

Looking at Lucius curiously, its ears twitched in a cute manner.

"Here. I took these for you." He showed several berries to the fox.

The fox sniffed at the berries. Judging it was edible, it began wolfing them down quickly.

The fox was found at the edge of the forbidden forest by Lucius. From its state, he could tell the fox had not eaten for days so he went to scavenge food for it in the Hogwarts kitchen.

"Haha… don't be so rushed. I still have some more here." Lucius dug out a few more from his robe pocket.

Seeing that there was more food, the fox's eyes lit up and jumped towards his palm at once.

"Ouch…"

The fox's short claws accidently scratched a portion of Lucius's arm as it jumped upwards, and the claw hooked into his soft flesh, causing quite a deep gash.

A fair bit of blood oozed out, trickling down his arm.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang of the door opening.

-A few minutes ago-

[Sirius]

Unbeknownst to Lucius, there was an individual who had actually followed him.

Following the scent of a creature together that was mixed together with the scent of another individual, Sirius had arrived in front of a classroom.

He was curious to know the identity of the creature, and who had brought it into school.

" _Alohomora_." He whispered, unlocking the door, and carefully opened a small crack that was just enough for him to peek in.

"…"

He was beyond surprised to see the rumoured Ice Prince in his eyes cuddling a white fox! And smiling even!

If he took a photo of the Ice Prince now, he was sure he could sell it at a high price with his looks. The girls would surely rush buy the photo!

… Too bad he didn't have a camera with him.

Shaking his head and sighing at the missed opportunity, he looked on at the cute (?) scene that would probably cause girls to scream.

He didn't expect this Ice Prince to have this side to him. From the rumours he heard, the Ice Prince rarely showed any expressions besides frowning.

Everything was going smoothly, until… he saw blood, no, in more accurate terms, he smelled it even before he saw it.

Before his mind could process what was happening, an intense urge attacked him. To drink that blood.

...

[Lucius]

Startled, Lucius looked towards the loud bang. A student stood at the door, someone that he briefly recognised as the same year as him.

Something was off with the student, for the student was breathing with heavy pants, his eyes gleaming red.

Lucius knew he had a fairly good reaction time, evident from him winning the title of Slytherin Prince. But when the student moved, he couldn't react to his movement fast enough.

All he saw was a black shadow running towards him, and the next thing, he was pushed down onto the floor.

His hand was grabbed roughly, and he felt a slimy sensation on his wound.

When he looked down, he could not believe what he was seeing. The student was actually licking his wound, sapping up the blood that had trickled down his arm.

This behaviour… together with those eerily red eyes of the student made him think of one possibility.

Vampire.

A cold shiver went down his spine.

He had heard of them. They were ruthless, cold beings that depended on human blood to sustain their lives.

However, he had also heard that they were easily distinguishable, their outer appearance so horrid that it repelled the humans.

Then, was this student a vampire?

In any case, the student didn't do anything harmful to him at this point.

Eyeing the student that was drinking his blood, Lucius remained still, holding his wand towards him in case of any rash movements.

…

"Are you awake now?" A cold, unfamiliar voice asked.

"Uhhhh…."

"For Merlin's sake, don't pass out after you just attacked me."

Attacked….?

Sirius's mind immediately cleared, and he leapt to his feet.

What greeted him was an unfamiliar classroom. That's right, he remembered he had followed the Ice Prince and saw the Ice Prince smiling…

Then? What happened?

More importantly, why was he soaking wet?

"Can I ask why am I wet?"

"I used _Aguamenti_ on you, that's why." He spoke as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

"…"

What a ruthless guy. As expected of the Ice Prince.

"So, explain. Why you attacked me." Ordering in a frigid tone, he leant against the wall with folded arms.

"After you got cut, I don't have any recollection what happened afterwards. But… I can guess what happened." Sirius said in a strained voice, "Did I… drink your blood?" He asked hesitantly, and threw a weak gaze towards the Ice Prince for desperate confirmation.

"Yes." He nodded, "You knocked me down and started to drink the blood from my wound."

Sirius felt his blood draining from his face.

His identity… was exposed.

…

"So, you're telling me you're a vampire."

Sirius meekly nodded.

Lucius's brows furrowed. "From the vampire I know from books, they don't seem to be able to take human form."

Sirius sighed. There was no choice but to divulge his identity. "They're… a lower form of vampire. The Black bloodline is far superior than those creatures."

The icy blue eyes shot towards him. "Is that so? If your bloodline is superior, why did you lost control of yourself and attacked me?"

"That's…" Sirius had no words to say. "Probably because it's nearing the time for blood replenishment and that… I was exposed to your blood."

"Hmm? So would you indiscriminately attack anyone when you smell their blood?"

"No!" Sirius adamantly responded, his eyes flashing resolvedly. "That will never happen. I swear it under Black's name."

Seeing how serious Sirius was, Lucius determined that Sirius was telling the truth and was able to breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the youth wasn't a hostile threat to the school.

"Do your… comrades know about this?" Lucius asked gingerly, curious.

Unexpectedly, a downcast expression appeared on his face. "I can't… tell them. Vampires are not supposed to tell others of their existence because we face much discrimination from the magical society."

Understanding the complications, Lucius's eyes widened. "Then why did you tell me?"

"I owe you an explanation for attacking you."

"You're not afraid whether I divulge it?"

Sirius smiled bitterly. "If you want to, go ahead. It's my fault that I attacked you in the first place."

Lucius felt inherently shocked by Sirius words.

It was up to him to decide his fate?

Staring at the youth that was of same age as him but yet had such an honourable attitude, Lucius started to grow respect for him.

A smile formed on his lips. "Since you answered my questions, let bygones be bygones. I won't tell a soul about what transpired today."

The other party dazedly looked at him, unable to believe what he had just heard.

"What's your name?"

"Si-Sirius Black."

Chuckling at how the other was stuttering in a daze, Lucius introduced himself for the first time in ages.

"I'm Lucius. Lucius Malfoy." His lips curled up as he held out his hand towards Sirius.

He didn't notice how Sirius's cheeks turned red.


	4. V1C4 - Uncovered Plans (2)

A/N: Warning: Some graphic bloody scenes.

"Come on~" Sirius huffed and puffed, dragging the deadweight across the floor, who was folding his arms stubbornly.

The icy blue eyes shot an irritated look at him, frown marring his attractive face.

"I get it, Lucius…" Sirius sighed, stopping in his tracks.

"I'm not meeting _them_." He hissed coldly.

Sirius rolled his eyes at Lucius's inhospitality.

Due to a surprisingly turn of events, the secret that he had kept for so long—that he was a vampire was leaked out to Lucius. At first, Sirius had thought that once the secret was leaked he would have to quit Hogwarts, but surprisingly, everything had turned out well.

Well, except for one thing.

Ever since he had befriended Lucius, his other group of friends, the Marauders became suspicious to what he was doing, for he hung out less with them, and disappeared on many occasions.

And, when they finally confronted him about it, Sirius could only say he had made a friend outside of Gryffindor, because Lucius had made him swear that he could tell no one about him.

What a head-aching situation.

If he knew Lucius was going to act this way, he should've planned an 'accidental' meeting to resolve the situation.

At that moment, he felt a cold chill from those icy eyes boring into him.

"Don't you dare to do it. You're probably thinking of nothing good." The low, threatening tone resounding in his ear made him shiver.

Sirius jumped back immediately, faking a laugh.

"Nothing, I wasn't thinking of anything."

The icy blue eyes caught him, making him shut his mouth.

After a while, Lucius's cold demeanour gradually faded.

"Didn't you promise me to show me the den of white foxes you discovered? I hope it's Rudy's parents."

"Ah… that's right." Sirius said quickly, rubbing the back of his head.

The other day, Sirius saw a few white figures scuttling around in the forbidden forest from high up in the tower, and after scavenging here and there, he finally discovered a den of white foxes.

Thinking that those foxes might have to do with Rudy, he had told Lucius about it and promised to take him there when he was free.

…

The dried leaves and twigs crunched underneath their feet as two figures made their way into the forest.

"It's quite deep." Sirius informed, leading the way into the forest with ease, a sign that he had traversed many times before.

Lucius eyed Sirius's back, following steadily behind him.

Being a vampire, Sirius could travel into the forest in just a few minutes, but for Lucius's sake, he walked at a speed that he could follow.

They had started in the mid-afternoon, and after trekking for a few hours, the sun was already on the horizon.

" _Lumos_." Lucius softly casted the spell, illuminating the surroundings. Rudy that was lying on his shoulder looked curiously at that shining light.

"Sorry, I didn't notice it was getting dark." Sirius smiled apologetically, and pointed to his eyes. "Mine's different."

"Don't tell me… you can see in the dark?" Lucius looked curiously into Sirius's eyes, wanting to see whether there was any difference compared to daytime.

Vaguely, he could tell that Sirius's eyes were shining. He felt astounded, together with a bit of jealousy.

Sirius smiled bitterly. "Because of this, I have to avoid dark places or wear my special glasses. _Lumos_."

After knowing that Sirius could see in the dark and did not need to cast the spell, Lucius realized that Sirius had done it for him in order to see ahead more clearly.

A warm feeling rushed into his chest, and Lucius felt surprised at the unknown emotion he had just experienced.

Ahead, Sirius had a serious expression on his face, paying careful attention of his surroundings. (A/N: Sirius is serious. Hahaha)

Since he had always reached deep into the forest before sunset, he was not that familiar with the forest at night and had to trek carefully. Moreover, in this occasion there was Lucius that was together with him too.

If things got out of hand, he would grab Lucius and make a run for it.

He let out a sigh of relief when he saw the last few markings that he had made in order to keep track of where the den was.

"It's here." He illuminated the small cave.

Without warning, Rudy suddenly leapt down and rushed into the cave, startling the both of them.

"Seems like this is it." Lucius looked at the entrance cave, contemplating whether to go in to see Rudy's family.

He actually didn't have to think, for not long after Rudy went into the cave, he came out together with many other foxes.

They were all of different sizes; some of them looked similar to Rudy, the others even smaller than him. The two foxes that were bigger than the others were naturally assumed to be the parents.

Though the foxes couldn't speak, both Sirius and Lucius could tell from their gestures that they were grateful that Rudy was brought to them and showed that he was in good health.

Lucius himself was relieved that Rudy had reunited with his family, and that he had a warm, loving family, unlike his.

The foxes seemed to like him as they surrounded him, some even snuggling up to his body. Seeing their reactions made Lucius smile, patting and revelling in the soft fur of the foxes.

As for Sirius, he just stood there without doing anything, mostly watching the scene with amused eyes.

However, suddenly, the reunion was cut short when a roar sounded from inner depths of the forest, raw and desperate, chilling to anyone who heard it.

The foxes trembled, evidently extremely fearful. They immediately rushed back into the cave except for Rudy who crawled back up onto Lucius's shoulder.

Both Lucius and Sirius had an uneasy look on their faces as they looked towards the direction of the roar.

"What's happening." Sirius muttered, furrowing his brows, contemplating. The roar did not seem to be from an animal that existed from the forest. Instead, it seemed more like roar made by an intelligent creature.

The creature was probably far away from where they were, probably miles away.

Or so he thought.

He realized from their footsteps that there were two of them, and they were currently charging towards their direction at a terrifying speed. Sirius's face immediately paled.

"Not good!" He urgently cried out. If those footsteps came any closer, they would sense both of their presence.

Without any hesitation, he picked Lucius up and carried him, running quickly like the wind and as silent as he could.

The wind whistled past as Sirius carried Lucius in his embrace, a solemn look on his face while looking straight forward. In just a few minutes, they were out of the forest.

"Are you alright?" Sirius asked concernedly, peeking into Lucius's face through his dishevelled hair that was messed up by the wind. He was afraid that Lucius might have been shocked that he had acted without warning.

In that desperate situation, he could not wait and had to act quickly, or they would've been in danger.

"Put me down first." Lucius said awkwardly, clearly feeling uncomfortable in this position, his cheeks red.

"Oh… right."

Feet landing on the ground, Lucius hurriedly adjusted his robes and arranged his hair. A few small leaves were even stuck in his hair.

"…"

The dust and leaves clung to his hair, taking a long time to remove them.

Looking at this scene, Sirius laughed, not stopping even when Lucius glared at him.

"Your hair is too long~" Sirius chuckled teasingly. "No wonder things get stuck in it."

"Don't say a word more." Lucius scowled, combing through his hair with his delicate fingers.

Seeing how Lucius was missing the spots where he couldn't see, Sirius did it for him instead.

"You're taking too long." He pointed out, picking out leaves one by that was missed by Lucius. "Here. Done."

Lucius looked gratefully at Sirius.

"… Thanks. And for before too." He said in a gentle whisper, not used to thanking people. His icy blue eyes softened as if like thawing ice, captivating Sirius who could barely look away from them.

Only after he realized he had stared too long that Sirius looked away from Lucius's eyes, feeling his face burning up.

"Right. About what happened just now." Sirius started explaining after steadying himself, his expression morphing into one of grim seriousness. "I suspect they were werewolves. While escaping, I caught a whiff of their scent. And…" He paused, hesitating to say the next words, "I think they caught our scent too."

Despite the news, Lucius was not flustered, expression a pondering one instead.

"Can you tell whether they will come here?" He asked straight up.

Sirius shook his head. "Most likely not. They're intelligent creatures. If they come here, the professors will surely notice. Especially with Dumbledore here."

"Then it's alright. Even if they caught our scent, they can't do anything. Just that…" Lucius's eyes hardened. "We have to make a choice whether to inform the headmaster about this. It may be concerning with You-know-who."

"You suspect that…" Sirius's voice trailed off, his grey eyes containing at trace of resentment.

Though sensing the drastic change in Sirius's eyes, Lucius did not say anything about it.

Clenching his fist, Sirius made up his mind.

"Let's go. To the headmaster."

…

"Chocoballs!"

After exhausting the list of candy names, the gargoyle moved, revealing a staircase.

Both Sirius and Lucius shot each other a _finally_ look, and started climbing up to the headmaster's office.

"How can I help you at this time of the night?" An airy voice asked from within the office.

Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, inspecting them through his half-moon spectacles. His face seemed to twitch into a small smile when he saw the two of them.

"Lucius Malfoy. Sirius Black." He greeted them, eyes twinkling as he said their names. "An unexpected combination."

Both of them did not respond to the headmaster's comment.

"So, what business do you have with me?"

Sirius immediately went into explanation about the two supposedly werewolves, leaving out details of how they nearly escaped from danger.

"I see…" The headmaster had a foreboding look, bushy eyebrows furrowing together. "If that's the case, time is precious."

"Sir, let us go too. I can lead you there." Sirius requested.

Eyeing the determined look on Sirius face, the headmaster contemplated a while before agreeing. "Follow me closely."

Rushing into the forbidden forest as fast as possible, they reached the spot where Sirius had last caught whiff of their scent.

Under the moonlight, the red trail on the ground seemed to glow eerily, leading further into the forest.

Seeing this, Dumbledore's face hardened, walking more cautiously as he followed the trail.

The trails went on for a long time, showing that the battle had raged on for a while as the injured creature tried to escape from the other.

"Alas." The headmaster shook his head, a pitiful expression on his face when they reached the remnants of the battle. He blocked the two of them with one hand, trying not to let them to see what was in front of him.

It was a gruesome scene.

Bruises and claw wounds were all over the body, the deepest wound on the lower half that revealed the half-spilled entrails. The upper part of the body was in a more devastating state. The face was disfigured horribly, exposing the cheekbone and jaw, and eyes were clawed a few times.

Despite the headmaster preventing them to see the corpse, it was too late, for it was right in front of their eyes.

Lucius turned pale, a numb sensation spreading within him when he saw it. Sirius did not have much reaction as Lucius, but was shocked nonetheless by the brutality.

From the looks of it, the werewolf's head was mercilessly pounded repeatedly onto the ground until his skull was smashed, revealing the red mass underneath. At that point, the werewolf was probably dead. But that was not enough—the killer had to smash his brain to pieces. Parts of the werewolf's brain were scattered over the ground, colouring the ground red.

The scene burned into his eyes, making Lucius unable to take his eyes off it. The next moment he felt light-headed, and he tried to steady himself.

Seeing Lucius's reaction, Sirius immediately grabbed his hand and pulled him into an embrace, forcing Lucius not to look at the corpse any longer.

Embracing Lucius, he found that his body was cold and hard, most probably due to the low temperature and chilly winds in the forest.

Worried that Lucius would catch a cold, Sirius shifted closer to Lucius, hoping that his heat could transmit easier.

Feeling Sirius's warmth, Lucius relaxed and closed his eyes, but his arms were wrapped around Sirius tightly, as if wanting to confirm his existence. He was glad that Sirius was together with him.

Was this how an embrace was like?

A lump rose in his throat, emotionally touched by Sirius's kindness that warmed his very soul.

Many a times, he had wondered why he was born into this world where his father never loved him, and where people never gave him any true affection. Due to his childhood, he became very afraid of getting hurt, and as a result, built a tall barrier towards everyone he had met.

But now, it had changed.

Sirius was here with him.

This fact resonated in his heart, and tears started flowing down right at the instant as soon as he felt his icy barrier collapse and break into smithereens.

Knowing Sirius, he had probably long noticed the tears on his shoulder, but he did not say anything, just quietly embracing him.

At that moment, it was as if the two of them were left in this world.

…

"You're alright now?"

Sirius held Lucius close, gazing into his eyes.

Despite his efforts to try to wipe his tears, Lucius knew his eyes were probably red.

Too ashamed to say anything, he nodded instead.

"Here." He took off his cloak and put it around Lucius, and grabbed his hands. "Your hands are very cold." He muttered, his eyebrows furrowing in worry.

A small, happy grin formed on Lucius's face as he heard Sirius's words.

"What's that grin for? Unfair…" Sirius muttered under his breath.

He grabbed Lucius's hand in a flash and interlaced them, a smug expression on his face. Totally not expecting this, Lucius became flustered and tried to tear Sirius's hands away, but Sirius's grip was strong, not allowing him to let go, dragging Lucius towards the headmaster.

Dumbledore had a nonchalant face, but his twinkling eyes could not hide that fact that he saw what happened.

Taking a deep breath and keeping a straight face, Sirius put the current serious matter in front of his eyes to the top of his priority. "Sir. Let me do it. You know what I'm talking about."

Dumbledore wore a solemn expression. "You sure, Sirius?" His glance flickered towards Lucius.

Sirius had a small smile as he looked at Lucius and said to Dumbledore, "He already knows."

Hearing this, Dumbledore could not help but raise his eyebrows; this was the first time they'd seen him lose his composure after all this time.

"Go ahead, then." He said after calming down, taking out a small glass bottle and giving it to Sirius.

Sirius bit his tongue, and placed a drop of blood on his finger.

" _With the blood of noble Black, activate the memories that lie within your blood, and show it to us. Your life, your regrets that you have left behind._ " He chanted, inscribing in mid air with his blood.

With the spell, he extracted a red hair-like wisp was from the werewolf's blood, and stored into the glass bottle with a swipe of his finger.

"Shall we view it now?" Sirius directed the question to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore nodded.

…

"Ash… stay in here. Don't leave this spot. Your scent is already erased—He won't be able find you."

"Dad!" The girl cried, her eyes red, pleading and trying to restrain him. "Please… don't go!"

The man shook his head, a determined look in his eyes.

"I can't… I have to fulfil my duty as a clan leader. For my fallen clansmen, I must exact revenge for them." His eyes were full of hatred for the other party.

"No, Dad! He's too strong!" The girl shook her head, trying to convince him. "The Dark Lord must've given him something to boost his strength!"

"Even so…" He smiled bitterly, caressing his daughter's face tenderly, for it may be the last time he could see her. "If I fall, it's mine to blame." He sighed. "That I have not enough power to win against him."

Then, he moved his hand, chanting a spell that formed a barrier, preventing his daughter from chasing him.

" _Protego_. This barrier will last for twelve hours." Disregarding his daughter's muted screams through the barrier, he went away to find him.

…

"Fenrir." He growled.

The other werewolf had a feral grin on his face, standing there without moving as he waited for the man to approach him.

"Dhir, looks like you're as foolish as I thought, coming here to seek your own death. On the other hand, this means I don't need to find you. It would be troublesome if you went into hiding, you see. Oh? Where's little Ash?" His eyes narrowed into slits when he found that she was nowhere to be found in the vicinity.

"As usual, you sure talk a lot."

"Kuhahaha!" Fenrir howled with laughter. "Don't change the topic. Even if you hide her, I will eventually find her. As long as she is in Britain, she is still within the boundaries of the Dark Lord's control."

"You dare." Dhir snarled, worrying for the safety of his daughter. "How dare you betray the clan and kill so many of your kind."

"Don't you know?" Fenrir grinned, revealing his sharp canine fangs. "Werewolves are a competitive species. We exist to kill and step over each other. And the clan—was my stepping stone. It is also the Dark Lord's wish."

"You bastard!" Hearing Fenrir's words, Dhir became thoroughly enraged, and started to attack. However, Fenrir avoided his swipe easily, looking at him with eyes as if he was seeing an ant.

"How weak in your human state… Why don't you transform and see whether you can hurt me?"

At his words, Dhir transformed instantly, kicking Fenrir back with his foot while he was caught off guard. Fenrir was kicked into the trees, body colliding with the trees, vomiting out a small chunk of blood.

However, Fenrir had transformed halfway, and his body only suffered a small amount of damage from Dhir's attack.

"Bastard… catching me off guard like that." Fenrir rose, wiping off the blood on his lips angrily.

"Wasn't it what you told me to do?" Dhir sneered.

"Let's see if you still can talk after this."

Fenrir arrived in front of Dhir, knee-kicking him, aiming for his abdomen.

Dhir's eyes widened at Fenrir's speed, raising one hand to try and block his attack.

"Kuk!" He felt his hand fracturing from the force of his attack.

"One hand incapacitated, next… one of your ears?" Fenrir snarled, slashing his claws towards Dhir.

Prepared for his attack, Dhir managed to swerve to the side, avoiding his attack, but the claws still managed to scratch his ear, leaving a bloody line streaking across it.

"Ha!" Taking the chance when Fenrir was off-balance, his sharp claws aimed for his heart.

Completely unexpected that Dhir would aim at his heart so accurately; Fenrir pushed his centre of gravity backwards using all his strength of his legs, managing to avoid a fatal blow.

However, the claw had managed to dig in at least an inch into his body.

Fenrir howled in fury, overwhelmed with a sense of disgrace that he had managed to sustain an injury from Dhir.

"You… How dare you injure me?!" He turned berserk, moving his hands in a frenzied manner, clawing every portion of Dhir's body.

The claws split apart his skin and dug into his flesh every time Fenrir moved, causing him to roar in pain.

He had to retreat. Fenrir was too dangerous right now.

However, learning from his past lesson, this time Fenrir did not give any more chances. He chased after Dhir, who tried to run.

Despite his best efforts, he was not able to outrun Fenrir. Like a god of death, Fenrir pursued Dhir relentlessly, and every time Fenrir caught up; he would inflict a fatal wound onto Dhir.

Having sustained many injuries and used up all his stamina to run for his life, Dhir found that he could no longer move, collapsing onto the ground.

Closing his eyes, he waited for his end.

At the last moment, his daughter's face appeared in his thoughts. He hoped she would not be too sad about his death.

His last regret was that he couldn't ensure the safety of his daughter…

…

The memory ended, leaving behind the regrets of Dhir.

In front of the corpse, the three of them paid their respects to the werewolf.

"Let's rescue the daughter." Dumbledore said in a mournful tone.


	5. V1C5 - A Long Night (3)

A/N: Look forward to the arrival of the Dark Lord.

The long, sleepless night was just beginning.

A gust of wind swept past the three, howling into their ears. Walking deep into the woods, the forest in middle of the night was cloaked in shadows, giving off an eerie atmosphere under the moonlight.

Dumbledore was in the front, holding his wand out to illuminate the way, stepping carefully on the uneven ground.

Behind him, the two students were walking at the same pace, hands linked together.

Suddenly, Lucius felt Sirius's grip on his hand tighten.

"Sir. He's coming." He informed quickly.

Dumbledore immediately halted in his steps and whipped his wand out, glancing around his surroundings with cautious eyes.

Everyone held their breath, staring into the darkness for any movement.

"He's aiming for the two of us!" Sirius shouted.

A dark figure lunged out of the forest, eyes shining sinisterly as they locked onto the two targets right in front of him.

" _Stupefy!_ " The headmaster roared, the spell shooting towards the werewolf.

A wide feral grin appeared on the Fenrir's face. Contrary to everyone's expectations, he didn't avoid, but continued to dash ahead.

Dumbledore had a stupefied look on his face as the spell hit Fenrir. The spell did not really have an effect on him—Fenrir merely slowed down in speed.

Non-verbally casting a shield charm to protect the two, Dumbledore stepped forward, confronting the Fenrir directly.

A blinding white light gathered on the tip of Dumbledore's wand, shooting towards Fenrir.

This time, instead of facing the spell head on, he avoided it, leaping to one side before continuing ahead.

" _Incarcerous!_ " Ropes wrapped around him, tying him up, and he fell onto the ground.

But it did not last for long.

"Grghh-aaa!" Fenrir used his raw strength to tear apart the constraints, looking more ferocious than ever.

"The last savior of the wizarding world—is this all you've got?" His mouth formed into a sneer and clawed the invisible barrier.

Seeing the several gaping holes forming on the barrier, Dumbledore stared pensively at it, furrowing his eyebrows, deep in thought.

Fenrir was much too stronger than he thought.

How did he get stronger all of a sudden?

All of the sudden, he had an epiphany.

"Tom succeeded, didn't he?" He spoke with a grim look on his face.

"Kuhaha! Looks like you knew about it!" For the first time, the look in Fenrir's eyes changed into one of arrogance. "Yes... I became superior. With that blood he so willingly provided!"

Hearing this, Dumbledore's expression tightened.

"Tell me just one thing…" Dumbledore swallowed difficultly. "Is he still alive?"

"That, I'm afraid you'll have to find out yourself. Even if he were to be alive, I bet he would wish he was killed…" A malicious grin spread out across his face. "Because the Dark Lord never forgives."

Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of the two of them without them noticing. He had two streaks of tears flowing down on both sides of his face.

It was precisely Sirius.

Lucius realized to his horror that Sirius was no longer beside him.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BROTHER!"

The bellowed cry was filled with raw desperation and hatred.

Fenrir's stunned expression quickly morphed into one of entertainment.

"Kuhahahaha! Never expected another Black to be here! How was it? Listening to us talking about your _dear brother_? Did it felt like shit? _"_

"Sirius…" Dumbledore's face seemed to age after seeing him. "You knew?"

"Regulus left a note." Sirius choked out, face contorting in pain.

Dumbledore heaved a heavy sigh. "It's my responsibility for what had happened. If only…" He couldn't voice the next words out. "Blame this old man for it. Don't do anything rash." He urgently tried to convince Sirius.

"No, sir. I know Regulus would've done it anyway." He shook his head bitterly, tears misting his eyes. "He was too kind. He wanted to stop the Dark Lord with his own hands to save his family and friends."

Those words had Dumbledore choke in sorrow.

"Please protect Lucius." He requested of Dumbledore and turned to Fenrir.

Sirius's eyes grew intensely red as he stared at Fenrir.

"You'll pay for my brother's blood."

At that instant, his nails became sharp and sliced towards Fenrir.

Fenrir calmly meet his attack with one of his hand. Their hands clashed together, but Fenrir was evidently overpowering Sirius.

"You're not able to beat me. With this amount of strength." He sneered, pushing Sirius back.

"You'll never know what will happen." Sirius wrote several blood inscriptions in the air, sending it towards Fenrir.

Not knowing what type of magic it was, Fenrir avoided it out of precaution. However, the inscriptions seemed to have a life of its own as it swerved and hit him on the back with Sirus's adept control.

Fenrir felt his body temperature going down, and that his limbs became stiff and hard to move.

"Pesky blood magic!" He said in annoyance, and retreated back a considerable distance before Sirius could reach him.

Blood magic was highly effective, but had a short active duration after it was cast. As long as Fenrir could stall Sirius, the magic would fade away.

Sirius grinded his teeth as Fenrir escaped out of his range.

" _Incarcerous!_ " He yelled, trying to stop Fenrir.

However, even with the blood magic, Fenrir was able to avoid the spell easily with his speed.

Casting the spell repeatedly, Sirius tried to hit Fenrir while chasing him, but the blood magic soon wore off, and Fenrir turned from being defensive to offensive.

But, Sirius had other plans.

As soon as Fenrir entered his attacking range, Sirius immediately casted the blood magic that would reverse Fenrir's blood flow. It was evident that the spell was taxing, as Sirius's lips paled the instant he casted it, and blood leaked out of the corner of his mouth.

A wrenching pain seared through Fenrir's body. He roared out in excruciating pain, coughing out large amounts of blood. He could feel that his internal organs were most probably damaged.

He glared hatefully at Sirius.

Eyes glistening coldly, Sirius unhesitatingly slashed towards Fenrir's neck.

But before his nails could dig into his flesh, Fenrir gripped Sirius's arm with such strength that Sirius's nails stopped just several millimetres away from his neck.

"Black!" His teeth gnashed together, the urge to kill Sirius rising by the moment. Lunging towards Sirius, the sharp fangs bit his shoulder and tore away his arm like a savage beast.

An agonizing pain laced through his shoulder, and Sirius stared mutedly as blood spurted relentlessly from it.

His consciousness started blacking out from the unbearable pain.

" _Petrificus Totalus!_ "

…

Sirius felt the sensation of something warm and wet on his face.

Opening his heavy eyelids, the first thing he saw was Lucius crying, tears falling down like pearls.

"Sirius!" Lucius cried out when he saw Sirius was awake. "Your arm…" His eyes teared up, unable to say anything else.

That's right. He had lost his arm…

Looking at the missing arm, he realized it was already bandaged up with his own cloak.

"Did you bandage for me?" Sirius asked weakly.

Lucius nodded his head. "I did temporary measures to stop the blood. When we go back to Hogwarts, they will be able to fix it up for you."

"Fenrir… what about him?" He asked urgently.

"The headmaster is battling with him right now. Don't move." Lucius tried to push Sirius down when he saw Sirius trying to sit up.

"He won't be able to win. Fenrir's too powerful with my brother's blood." Sirius insisted, once again trying to sit up.

Lucius sighed. "The headmaster himself said that too. At most, he would only be able to fight him to a stalemate."

"Then…!"

"In your current condition, what can you do?" Trying to dissuade Sirius, Lucius lashed out in a harsh tone.

However, Sirius was not deterred. His grey eyes flashed intensely.

"I know. But I can't let it be."

Lucius knew how stubborn Sirius could be.

Then, there was no other choice. Pulling Sirius up into an embrace, Lucius pushed his flowing long blonde hair to one side, revealing his pale white neck to Sirius.

"Drink my blood."

"Lucius!" Sirius immediately pushed him away. "Do you know what you're doing?!" He cried out vehemently in shock.

Lucius's ice blue eyes were unwavering. "I know. I heard from the headmaster."

"That old fogey!" Sirius cursed angrily. "What was he thinking?!"

"This is the only way you can win against Fenrir."

"But Lucius!" Sirius gripped Lucius's arms and shook him, trying to convince him otherwise. "You will lose your will! We will be blood-bound forever!"

"I believe you won't make me do anything against my will, will you?"

Sirius's eyes hardened. "I definitely won't!" He responded instantly.

"Then, everything's fine." Lucius smiled gently, pushing Sirius's head towards his neck.

In Sirius's grey eyes—there were many conflicted emotions clashing together.

Then, he closed his eyes and opened them with a resolute expression.

"Thank you…" Sirius whispered softly.

Retracting his fangs out, they pierced into Lucius's soft flesh. At that instant, a red symbol was formed on Lucius's skin where his heart was.

Lucius's blood flowed into Sirius, heating up every portion of his body. He could feel his heart pumping more rapidly, and an incredible amount of energy flowed through him, energizing every part of his body.

As he thought, Lucius's blood was compatible with him. So that was why—he thought back to the time he attacked Lucius when he smelled his blood.

Sirius licked the wound close with his own blood.

"Let me see your body." Sirius asked, serious.

"What?"

Lucius froze at Sirius's words.

Was he hearing wrongly?

"There should be a tattoo at your chest, near your heart."

"I'm not going to strip here." Lucius's expression turned icy.

"Alright." Sirius sighed, and started explaining the details to Lucius. "That tattoo is like a reminder that you and I are blood-bound. If you are going disobey my orders, your heart will be squeezed as a warning, and you will feel suffocated. If you completely disobey my orders or try to kill me, your heart will be squeezed to death. The blood-bound is able to differentiate between my suggestions and orders, so there's no need to worry about accidently being killed."

Lucius took this in quite easily. "I see."

"You know how serious this is, right?" Sirius's tone was laced with worry.

"Don't say any more. This was my choice. I won't regret. Now, go and fight Fenrir and come back victorious, or else what I've done was for naught."

"Alright." Sirius nodded, smiling confidently at Lucius. "I'll definitely win against him."

He flew towards the battle between the Dumbledore and Fenrir, interrupting it.

Dumbledore was reduced to a shabby state. His robes were in tatters, hair dishevelled, and face full of exhaustion that had accumulated from the fight.

As soon as Dumbledore saw Sirius's stronger aura, he knew what had occurred.

Sirius glared at Dumbledore for revealing about the blood-bond to Lucius and putting that idea into his head.

"I won't thank you, sir." He said, having mixed feelings about the blood-bound, despite its effectiveness, for it was a permanent, irreversible solution.

Dumbledore wearily nodded his head. "I understand."

"What's this?" Fenrir narrowed his eyes, inspecting the change within Sirius. "Don't tell me…" His gaze flickered towards Lucius, Sirius, then to Dumbledore. "So that's why I felt you were stalling for time."

"I've come to finish you off." Sirius proclaimed, eyes turning red.

"Come." Knowing it would be a hard fight to come, Fenrir was fully on guard.

However, Sirius's next move was too fast for his naked eyes—he was unable to react in time.

"Guhh!" He felt an impact on his chest. The defence he was so proud of was penetrated in an instant.

Not only had Sirius's speed increased, his strength did too.

"Seems like you benefited quite a bit from my brother's blood." Sirius frowned, staring at the wound he inflicted on the werewolf. Despite attacking at his full strength, he could only pierce halfway through, stopping at his ribs.

Blood dripped from the corner of Fenrir's mouth as he looked unbelievably at Sirius like he was a monster.

"I overestimated you… Black. Now I get why Vampires were eradicated." He said through clenched teeth, feeling his life being dangerously threatened after seeing Sirius's strength increase exponentially. "But too bad now… You won't be able kill me. Not today." A wide, vicious grin spread across his face, and pressed the tip of his wand against the tattoo on his lower arm.

"NO!" Dumbledore immediately cried out upon seeing this action.

In no time, a black streak shot to where they were, and a terrifying aura surrounded the whole area, making everyone tremble.

A striking dark-haired man that looked in his twenties, dressed in a black, alluring outfit landed on the ground.

He had a frown on his face, as if irritated from being disturbed. After surveying the people around, his eyes landed on Fenrir.

"Did I not tell you to use it only during emergency?"

Fenrir landed on one knee. "Forgive me, my lord. My life was in danger."

Voldemort looked at the wound on Fenrir's chest with a contemplating expression, eyes flickering to Sirius and Lucius. "Looks like Black made a contract—And a strong one indeed."

"That's right, my lord. What do you plan to do with Black and his contractor? They pose a great threat to us."

Furrowing his brows, Voldemort suddenly shot a look at his old adversary, Dumbledore, who was pointing his wand towards him.

"Tom." Dumbledore addressed, carrying a wary look on his face.

"Albus…" Voldemort hissed. "Are you going to get in my way again?"

"I will not allow you to harm my students."

"My subordinate was hurt badly—and you expect me to let it go?" Several dark magic flew towards Dumbledore at that instant, making him fly backwards, knocking into the trees. "You're no match for me now!" Voldemort snarled.

"Voldemort! Give me back my brother!" Sirius suddenly appeared, casting reverse blood flow spell, not caring whether he used up most of his energy.

He had smelt the strong scent of his brother on the Dark Lord as soon as he arrived, which meant his brother was still alive.

Seeing the blood magic heading towards his direction, Voldemort raised an eyebrow, and did not avoid it.

Sirius thought he would see Voldemort spit out blood just like Fenrir did, but contrary to his expectations, Voldemort stood perfectly fine in front of him, smirking confidently. A protective field of blood was around him, and the spell was negated just like that.

"No… impossible. Why, brother…?" He could not believe his sight upon seeing the protective barrier. "What did you do to my brother! Why would he give you his protection?! You forced him, didn't you?!" He accused in a furious tone.

"…" Voldemort looked at him silently, an unreadable expression on his face. "Think what you want." He said monotonously, and waved his wand, consolidating soft, green particles, shooting towards Sirius.

Sirius felt his eyelids becoming heavier, and the last thing he heard was Lucius screaming his name desperately.

The elves' nature magic! Dumbledore inhaled in shock.

"Sirius!" Lucius immediately ran over towards the fallen body.

"He's fine." A foreign voice said inside his head. It was familiar, as if he had just heard it just a minute ago.

Voldemort's! Voldemort was transmitting his voice to him through magic.

Lucius's gaze met the Dark Lord, shivering from his overwhelming aura.

"I just knocked him out." His voice continued. "If he goes on rampage, things may be further complicated." Voldemort's gaze flickered toward Dumbledore.

Lucius's brows furrowed.

He couldn't understand Voldemort's words. Did he mean that he knocked Sirius out put him out of harm's way?

But why?

Unless…

What Sirius had just screamed earlier—his brother, and Voldemort.

The two pieces clicked together—Voldemort was sparing his life on behalf of Sirius's brother.

"Seems like you worked it out already. As expected of a Malfoy." Voldemort had a small, admirable expression in his charcoal eyes. "I hope you will keep this a secret." His eyes flashed mercilessly. "Or else… even with _his_ request, I will not hesitate to kill him. Remember, his life is in my hands." He threatened, and ended the transmission.

"Fenrir." Voldemort drawled.

"Yes, my lord."

"Leave us. Oh, and finish your mission if you haven't done so."

Despite having an unwilling look in his eyes as his gaze flickered towards Sirius, Fenrir complied.

"Understood." With that, Fenrir took off into the forest.

"Now… it's just the two of us left, Albus." Voldemort looked towards Dumbledore. Dumbledore had already picked up his wand and was gripping it tightly, aiming towards Voldemort.

"Didn't you learn your lesson once already?" Voldemort said in a repulsed manner, and casted several ice spikes towards Dumbledore.

Apparating from the spot, Dumbledore appeared a distance away, his hand weaving in complicated motions, incanting quickly. A strong gust of wind sliced the grass, and the sharp grass blades were collected together into a whirlwind.

Seeing this, Voldemort also prepared a large-scale spell, and a large, vicious, dark hound leapt towards the small whirlwind, dissipating it.

" _Avada Kedavra!_ " Voldemort snarled, wanting to end his adversary's life once and for all. However, a fiery phoenix suddenly flew into the spell's direction, interrupting the spell with its body before it could hit Dumbledore, turning into ashes.

If one would look closely, a small, phoenix had rebirthed from its ashes.

Dumbledore swiped his wand across, a blue wave slowly making its way towards Voldemort. Observing the magic, Voldemort determined it was non-offensive in nature but didn't know what effect it might have.

As a precaution, he summoned a silver shield, waiting for the spell to reach him.

The first few waves of magic crashed into the shield repeatedly without any damage, but the subsequent waves were increasingly more intense than the previous. Voldemort stared at the unfamiliar type of magic with a crease on his forehead. If the spell had hit the body, there would surely be internal damage.

Taking the chance when Voldemort was distracted, Dumbledore dissipated with a trail of sand, grabbing both Lucius and Sirius, before vanishing into thin air. The phoenix also vanished together with its master.

"So he escaped." Voldemort sneered, unable to hide the small look of disappointment in his eyes that he wasn't able to finish him off, and flew away in a black streak into the night sky.

...

The sun shone brightly in the sky, illuminating the lone figure that leaned on the bench who was looking around every now and then, as if waiting for somebody.

Every single person who passed by was captivated by the man's looks, pausing to admire him, even if just for a while.

Suddenly, an equally attractive man with dark hair approached the man on the bench. Seeing the man's eyes lighting up, it was obvious they knew each other.

"Tom." The attractive man with dark-brown curls eyed the other that had a furious expression on his face once he arrived. "What happened?"

"I let that Albus get away." Tom sighed deeply, feeling a headache coming once he thought about it. And that was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity too.

His hand was grasped by the other, making Tom look into those grey eyes that he was fond of, consoling him.

Interlacing their fingers gently, Tom kissed the other's fingers. "And I saw your brother, Sirius."

"Sirius?" Regulus's eyes widened in surprise at that nostalgic name. "How is he?"

"…" Tom looked silently into his eyes. "He's living just fine. Ah, that's right; he made a blood-bond with a human." He smirked, thinking back to Lucius.

"Sirius did?" Regulus's mouth opened in surprise, before smiling wistfully. "He's grown up now."

"And he seems to hate me for stealing his brother away." Tom chuckled.

Regulus blushed, pushing Tom into the doorway of a random restaurant embarrassedly. "Let's go this one. I'm starving already—you'd better make up for the lost time."

"You sure?" Tom looked back, unable to hide the amused smirk on his face. "Don't choose so rashly. I'll complain later if the food tastes bad."

"Ugh…" Regulus stared in annoyance into the charcoal eyes. He could not resist after looking at them and relented. "I get it! We'll go to the usual!"

The couple walked towards the said restaurant, chatting happily along the way.


	6. V1C6 - Love is in the Air (4)

In the end, Ale wasn't able to be rescued.

Once Dumbledore brought the two to safety, he went to her hiding place, but found that the barrier was broken. There were signs of struggle that showed that she was taken away forcibly, most probably by Fenrir.

Dumbledore had a depressed expression as he apparated back to his office. Removing his spectacles, he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Tom…" He thought back to how Voldemort had overpowered him so easily, and linked it to Regulus.

He had his suspicions that maybe things were not what he thought it was.

Perhaps Regulus had betrayed the Order, but there was no evidence.

He sighed, extracting the flask of memories that he had retrieved from Sirius gingerly with his wand and placed it into the pensieve. The red strands particularly stood out from the other golden ones.

Next, he extracted his memories of the fight with Voldemort, especially taking note of the scene when Voldemort was protected by the blood barrier.

He reviewed the memory once more, and also the scene where Voldemort wielded nature magic.

"Where did he learn this?" Dumbledore's brows furrowed together. "If so, the elves might have allied with him. Looks like I have to investigate further."

…

A group of three stood at the edge of the bed with gaping mouths.

"Do you see what I see?"

"Pinch me. I don't believe this is real."

"Ouch!"

James rolled his eyes, and stared back at the figure on the edge of the bed, eyes narrowing while linking to Sirius's behaviour for the past year. "Seems like this is our answer."

"What answer?" Peter asked curiously.

"You bubblehead! He's the reason why Sirius was missing every time with try to find him!"

"Ohhh!" Peter gasped in realization.

"Looks like they're closer than we thought." Remus's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Well… Duh. Sirius must've taken a liking to him." James commented, deducing the two's relationship.

"But really? The Ice Prince?" Peter shook his head, totally not understanding Sirius's preference. "Isn't he… like scary?" His voice turned fearful. "I've heard the rumours that when he glares at you, you feel your blood freezing up!"

"…" The other two looked at him in a weird expression.

"Isn't that just because he's too attractive?" James pointed out.

"That's right." Remus agreed. "I thought the same way when I heard that rumour. Probably only you thought that way."

"You guys! Why didn't you tell me before! " Peter exclaimed, feeling his face heating up with embarrassment.

"Don't raise your voice—they're sleeping!" James immediately tried to cover Peter's mouth, but it was too late.

Sirius's eyes opened his eyes slowly. On his side, Lucius stirred in his sleep, but he did not seem to wake.

Feeling a warm sensation on his right hand, he looked downwards. A trace of surprise and warmth ran through him, and he couldn't control the smile that lighted up on his face.

"Oh boy, he's in love." James muttered when he saw Sirius's reaction. "A hopeless case, even."

Hearing those words, Sirius's body immediately jerked and realized the existence of his group of friends, face draining of colour.

"T-This…" He stuttered, not sure how to explain the situation.

"Don't need to say anything." James interrupted. "He's the one you've been seeing for the past year, right? And knowing him, he surely asked you to keep your relationship with him a secret." James said in a know-it-all tone.

Sirius's eyes widened at James's accurate guess.

"So, the question is, are you dating him?"

"…"

"I see, not yet." James confirmed immediately from Sirius's expression and pointed to their joined hands. "But you have plenty of hope right there. I believe, with his personality, he wouldn't let people touch him freely, and yet he willingly holds hands with you—what does this mean?" He teased.

"Even without you saying, I know. Though it's not what you're thinking." Sirius said, a complicated expression appearing on his face.

James sighed. "As long as you get it. Then, we brothers will leave now." James winked, and exited the infirmary with the other two.

Sirius stared at the back of his friends with a surge of warmth from the camaraderie they showed.

"Lucius…" He whispered, caressing Lucius's hand with his thumb as he looked into his peaceful sleeping face. "I…" He spoke difficulty, throat choking up with emotions.

…

When Lucius woke, the sun was already high up in the sky. Looking at Sirius, he was sleeping with a painful expression on his face.

The regrowth of his arm must be excruciating.

Seeing the furrowed brows, Lucius tried to disperse it with his fingers.

"Ah." When he realized Sirius's eyes had opened his eyes halfway in his action, he snapped back his arm awkwardly.

"Good afternoon." Sirius greeted with a smile on his face. "You've slept all day. I'm sorry—it must've been because I took quite a bit of your blood." He said apologetically.

"It's alright. I feel absolutely fine after sleeping."

"I have no worries then." Sirius let out a small breath of relief. Lucius had slept a dead-log throughout the day; he had become worried for him.

"What about you—how's your arm?" Lucius asked concernedly, eyeing the bandaged shoulder.

"Madam Pomfrey said that it might need to take at least two to three weeks to grow back." Sirius informed.

Lucius's eyebrows rose in response. "That's… long. Your right arm is your dominant arm, right?" He furrowed his eyebrows worriedly. "Will you have trouble with your daily activities?"

"If so—what are you going to do about it?" Sirius teased.

Lucius mused in thought, before deciding. "Since I was responsible for causing the whole incident, I'll take responsibility." Because of his suggestion that he wanted to find Rudy's parents, it had led to the entire fiasco.

"Hey, hey, it isn't entirely your fault, you know." Sirius pointed out. ''Most of it was due to me recklessly diving in which resulted in me ending up in this state. You even blood-bounded with me to help me out."

"Just let me do it." Lucius insisted, his icy blue eyes determined.

Seeing this, Sirius relented. "Alright."

"I'll stay by your side until your arm heals, so tell me whenever you need me. For now, I'll go back to my dormitory to take my necessities."

Walking towards the Slytherin dormitory, Lucius realized the corridor was relatively empty as the students were probably attending lessons at this point of time.

Quite enjoying the silence, Lucius strolled while enjoying the scenery outside. The weather was particularly good, evident from the clear blue skies.

Everything was peaceful, until he heard several voices through the corridor that disturbed the silence.

"Hahaha! Look at him go!" A voice sniggered.

"Let me down!" Another voice pleaded. "You freaks! Pretending to be all compliant in front of the professors when you're actually like this!"

"What did you say?" The other's voice dropped into a low tone, clearly irked at the other. "Aren't we doing a good deed, helping our fellow students in punishing a conceited Slytherin?"

"You! I won't forgive you for doing this!"

Several chuckles followed. "I don't need your forgiveness."

Unable to withstand it any longer, Lucius stepped forward into the open area.

Every one of them was engrossed that none of them noticed him approaching.

"Put him down!" A sharp, icy voice resounded across, capturing everyone's attention instantly. "How dare you bully one of my Slytherin." Gripping his wand, he pointed at the three bullies.

The three's eyes were wide like saucers.

"I-Ice Prince." The small, minute boy amongst the three trembled when he said the boy's name.

"… Wasn't he taking care of Sirius?" James muttered under his breath, brows furrowing. How coincidental for him to discover them at this time.

This situation was quite bad indeed. If he didn't handle it well… his best mate might lose his chance with him.

"Put him down, I said!" The icy tone lashed out coldly, making them wince.

"Alright, alright." James tried to meditate the situation, and slowly put the boy down onto the ground as instructed.

The dark-haired boy with shouldered-length hair had tears in his eyes as he glared at the three.

Noticing the hatred emitting from the boy, Lucius frowned.

"Do you always bully him like this?" He aimed the question towards the leader standing in front, James.

"... We only do this once or twice every other month." James replied, looking cautiously at Lucius.

"How long has this been going on?"

Before James could answer, the boy on the ground shouted in anguish. "A year. I was tormented for a whole damn year!" He turned his gaze towards Malfoy. "And you... Slytherin Prince…" The boy's lips curled up depreciatingly. "Are you saving me out of pity?"

His hollow eyes looked into Lucius's, and within the depths of those eyes, Lucius was able to discover a trace of loneliness.

He felt a pang in his heart, for he probably would have the same look in his eyes if it wasn't for Sirius.

Lucius shook his head. "I just happened to pass by and witness what happened. I'm doing this for myself. I don't like seeing people suffering for no reason, especially when the matter can be resolved so easily."

Hearing this, the boy had a surprised look in his eyes.

Lucius thought back to his childhood. No matter how he hoped when he was a child, his father didn't even give him a glance.

The only words his father told him were: "Act according as a Malfoy. And don't bring shame to the family's name."

All of his childhood was spent on learning the proper etiquette, background of the countless wizarding families, especially the more renowned ones.

Tutors were scheduled for him one after another. He had no breaks, no toys he could play with, and especially no friends.

However, now it has changed. Sirius had brought him out from the pits of despair.

Just like Sirius, he hoped he could the same for the boy in front of him.

"What's your name?"

"S-Severus Snape." The boy answered hesitantly.

"Alright, Severus, from now onwards, those three won't be able to bully you anymore. _I declare_ —" His wand swished accordingly, forming a bright light that surrounded Severus. " _The use of a wish to stop those people from bullying Severus Snape. If they continue to do so, they will be met with severe punishment._ "

Everyone's mouth opened in surprise, unable to believe what they had just heard.

"You…!" Severus was the most astonished out of them all.

James released a breath he was holding.

Knowing that he and his friends were in the wrong for bullying, he had anticipated that Lucius would take care of them, but who knew he would settle it this way?

As expected of the person that Sirius fell for. He had a small smile on his face, unable to contain his look of admiration towards Lucius.

Severus's gaze was complicated. He knew only the victor out of the competition, Slytherin Prince had the right to three wishes, but never expected one to be used on him just like that.

"Severus." The Slytherin Prince looked at him with a small smile. "Do you want to be friends?"

Severus could not believe his ears. The Slytherin Prince was asking to befriend someone like him?

"What?"

"Let's be friends. I'm Lucius Malfoy. You can call me Lucius." A pale hand was extended out to him.

Seeing the extended hand, he looked at it in a daze, before finally shaking it.

The other three looked at the scene with astonished eyes.

…

"Ahhhh…" Sirius opened his mouth obediently, his cheeks burning red.

Looking at the corner of his eyes, Lucius seemed to take this very seriously, concentrating fully on trying to feed him properly without spilling.

This situation… was no good for his heart.

He was starting to regret accepting Lucius's help, for his heart was beating so loudly that he was afraid that Lucius could hear it.

One of Lucius's eyebrows arched up. "What's the matter? Is your arm hurting?"

"No, uh…" Sirius avoided Lucius's sincere eyes, afraid his feelings would be exposed through his gaze.

Seeing Sirius's weird behaviour, Lucius frowned.

"Don't tell me…"

Sirius's breath momentarily stopped as Lucius's face approached him. He eyed those tempting red lips that contrasted with his pale white skin, his heartbeat racing.

He swallowed dryly, unable to tear his eyes off them.

"As I thought—you're heating up profusely."

"Huh? Uh... yeah." He said in a daze, intoxicated by Lucius's scent as Lucius leaned over him.

Sirius's uncertain answer made Lucius even more certain.

"Looks like you have a fever." Lucius bumped his forehead against Sirius's to measure the temperature.

Trying to disperse raging emotions within him; Sirius forced himself to close his eyes, calming his heartbeat down. He knew… he couldn't be too rash. It was not time yet.

From observing Lucius, he knew Lucius treated him like a friend. The reason he allowed Sirius to do so many things as he wished was because Sirius was his first friend.

Then what if Lucius started making more friends? Would he lose his special position in his heart?

Sirius felt a sense of jealousy and helplessness rising inside him, but at the same time he didn't want to take advantage of their friendship and force Lucius to be with him.

Squeezing his eyes tightly together, he made up his mind.

All of the sudden, Lucius felt an arm wrapping around his waist, pulling him into an embrace.

Stunned at the unexpected embrace, he tried to push Sirius away. However, he immediately discarded that idea when he realized Sirius's body was shivering slightly.

"I'll wait, so…" Sirius's voice was shaky, as if about to fall apart at any moment. "Please… don't make me wait for long."

"What do you mean?" From his tone, Lucius knew Sirius was saying something serious, but he didn't understand what those ambiguous words meant.

Pulling back from the embrace, Sirius smiled bitterly.

"I meant this."

Before Lucius could react, he felt his lips being pressed by something… soft and warm. He saw Sirius's eyes were closed in front of him, and noticed for the first time how long his eyelashes were.

The grip on his waist became stronger. Sirius tilted his head, moving and meshing their lips together passionately, his brow wrinkling up.

From intense kiss, Lucius could feel the torrent of emotions pouring into him—a mix of hope, desperation, desire, and lastly—the most obvious one, the fear of rejection.

Was this what Sirius was feeling?

The kiss did not last for long, for Sirius withdrew quickly.

"I'm… I'm sorry… I shouldn't have done that without your permission." Sirius's eyes were darting around the room instead, not meeting his.

"…" Lucius sat down on the chair beside the bed, looking at Sirius's frail figure.

Suddenly, Sirius felt his hand was being grasped, and his eyes shot towards Lucius.

"Give me time to think about it." Lucius said slowly, eyes an intense blue. "I will consider carefully, and won't make you wait for long." His hand squeezed Sirius's that was trembling slightly.

…

Frankly, Lucius felt more shock than surprise when Sirius kissed him. That was because in the first place, he never thought someone would want him.

It was also his first time seeing such a side to Sirius who was always grinning. He didn't think he was capable of putting on such a frail expression.

He thought back to how he had met Sirius. He remembered feeling fear when Sirius attacked him and drank his blood, but that changed to one of respect when Sirius confessed what he was.

That was the beginning to their friendship.

After that, Sirius started hanging with him, and he realized he enjoyed spending time with him. He ended up looking forward to their meetings, for Sirius always brought something new or would bring him on an adventure somewhere in Hogwarts.

Sirius's grin would always infect him, and he found himself smiling more and more.

He was the one who taught him how much warmth a person's affection could bring to a person. The first time he was embraced by Sirius, the warmth it had brought him to tears.

"Rudy… do I like him…?" He eyed the white fox, caressing its luscious fur. Rudy squirmed in Lucius's arms, eyes turning to Lucius, as if asking him a question.

"Do I find him attractive? Of course, his looks are well… definitely one of the top up there. His high-chiselled cheeks, deep-set grey eyes and well-defined jaw." He said, considering Sirius's face in his mind. "He's definitely the type that girls like."

Upon saying those words, Lucius paused, mind latching on to a fleeting thought.

"That's right. If he gets a girlfriend, won't he be unable to spend time with me anymore?" He said in crestfallen tone.

Imagining Sirius together with another girl, Lucius felt a stifled sensation in his heart.

What was this feeling… Was it jealousy?

His eyes lit up in revelation.

"So I… afterall."

His body immediately moved, setting Rudy back into his cage.

"Thanks. You were helpful in clarifying my feelings." He stroked Rudy a few more times and fed him food. "I'd better give him his answer now."

It had been three days since Sirius had kissed him.

He walked quickly out of the dungeon towards the infirmary, not caring whether people were greeting him along the way. Pushing apart the infirmary door, his gaze landed onto Sirius who was reading a book with a disinterested expression.

Sirius raised his head from the book, eyes meeting with Lucius as soon as he stepped in.

"Lucius?" Sirius raised one eyebrow looking at how flustered he was.

Lucius walked brazenly towards Sirius's bed. "I've come to give you my answer."

Not waiting for Sirius to digest his words, he gripped his chin and closed his eyes, pressing his lips onto his.

Sirius's eyes flew open wide; unable to comprehend what just happened.

Then, he closed his eyes contentedly, slipping his hand into that silky, long hair and moved his lips against Lucius's.

Their second kiss was soft and tender as Lucius reassured Sirius, trying to alleviate his fears. It continued for a long while as Sirius kept going for more, stealing Lucius's breath away.

When they parted, Sirius admired the red blush on Lucius's cheeks that contrasted greatly with his pale skin. He suspected that he was also blushing quite heavily.

A delighted grin could not help but form on his face.

"From now on—Lucius Malfoy, you're my boyfriend." He proclaimed, gripping Lucius's hand and kissed his fingers, alike a vow.

The intense gaze that Sirius gave Lucius made him blush even harder.


	7. V1C7 - Tom's Plans (5)

A/N: Be warned for R18 scenes.

On one morning, there was a large commotion when the owls swooped into the dining hall, bringing the latest news to the students and professors.

Everyone who received the newspaper was astonished when they read the headlines.

 ** _The Dark Lord's Intentions Are Finally Revealed!_**

 ** _As_** _you may know, the Dark Lord, who uses the alias, Voldemort had told us briefly what he was planning to do with the wizarding world._

 _For those of you who may have forgotten or missed this, here's a brief recap: He had criticized the Ministry of Magic, saying it was rigid with regards to both the education system and also the Wizengamot, garnering negative reaction from all sides. Moreover, he pointed out departments had several laws in place that should be changed according to him, emphasizing the **Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures** and **Department of Magical Law Enforcement** amongst all others. _

_He stated that there should be equal rights for the beings in the **Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures** , and that the **Department of Magical Law Enforcement** should be more relaxed, allowing the use of all types of magic and also the abolishment of the age restriction of magic._

 _A letter was sent to the Daily Prophet a few hours ago, inscribing the Dark Lord's own signature and the Daily Prophet has confirmed its validity. Per the letter's wishes and as an informant, the Daily Prophet has decided to reveal its contents to the wizarding world._

 _Here's the content of Voldemort's letter:_

 _The Ministry of Magic needs to be restructured, starting from the top, in order to change the system in place today. Currently, the education system is heavily regulated, starting from the restriction of the uses of dark magic and forbidden spells, to not teaching the students to non-verbally perform sorcerer's magic. It is not surprising that the quality of wizards and witches have deteriorated as a result after many generations._

 _The ones that became proficient in magic are the ones who learnt 'restricted' magic outside of school when they start exploring the magical societies and find out that they are lacking so much compared to them. I have personally visited elves, goblins, vampires, giants and even werewolves societies, and after my own bitter experience, I can testify that their societies are much more superior to ours. I won't go into details about the shock I received when I had first found out about this._

 _Why, despite our highly-civilized society and substantial population are we still inferior to them? The root of the problem lies in our own wizarding committee._

 _We need a change in our governance._

 _Moreover, the introduction of muggles who know nothing about our society aggravates this problem. They, who belong to another society, do not understand ours._

 _I am not discriminating against them. I am just stating the truth of the matter._

 _Those who chose to stay live in our society are like a parasite, not learning and participating in the Wizarding governance. And for the rest, they have chosen to go back to their own society, simply because they couldn't adapt. Even despite erasing their memories regarding of our society, harbouring them bears a certain risk of the muggle society finding about ours._

 _Their technology has been advancing at a rapid rate, such that even I am afraid. If our society were to be exposed, it would mean the infiltration of muggles and the incorporation of their technology._

 _I ask everyone this. How many have bothered to learn about the development of muggles's society?_

 _Judging from our current state, we, the wizarding population are not prepared against them. As such, I propose a bill for the establishing of the **Department of Countermeasures of Muggle Society**. _

_Together with my goals that strive for change, I hope that my words will reach everyone._

 _Signing Off,_

 _Voldemort_

 _Despite the contents of the letter, the Dark Lord is no way using just words to achieve his means. As confirmed from the reports from the Aurors and Albus Dumbledore's testimony, recently one particular werewolf's clan was decimated under the Dark Lord's command._

 _Is the Dark Lord not caring of the methods to advocate change?_

 _Perhaps, a dark age may be upon us._

After reading the article, Sirius shot a look towards Lucius who was sitting at the Slytherin table a distance away, signalling that they would meet afterwards to discuss about it.

…

"I've thought long and hard about it… I don't really understand." Sirius sighed. "Did my brother willingly give Voldemort his protection? But from the contents of his letter, he had the intention to defeat Voldemort… yet at the same time, that protection spell is only given to someone a vampire really wants to protect—it is one of the most secret spells in our arsenal. What do you think, Lucius?" His head tilted towards Lucius who was sitting on a plushy, red chair, eyes scanning through the article once more.

A stiff look appeared on Lucius's face as he thought back to the Dark Lord's transmission. Just thinking about it gave him the shivers.

"Maybe things are not so black and white… your brother's mind could have changed along the way." He hinted.

"You think so too?" Sirius frowned, his arms folding together. "Actually, after reading this article, I've started to think that maybe that could be the case."

"Oh?"

"I mean… Voldemort's stance seems logical. I wouldn't be surprised if bought my brother with it." He mused. "He's a scheming fellow after all… and he does have looks that one could die for, using them as a weapon to tempt my brother. That rascal." He clenched his teeth, not caring whether he was insulting the Dark Lord.

Lucius raised an eyebrow, a hint of jealousy passing through him hearing Sirius complimenting the Dark Lord.

"So, the Dark Lord's attractive?" Restraining his tone, he prevented any emotions from leaking out.

"Huh?" Sirius's head turned towards at Lucius's cold tone. "Well… yeah." He thought back to the time he had tried to attack the Dark Lord. At that time he was enraged, but he could still clearly remember the outline of his face before passing out.

"…" Lucius stood up silently, placing the newspaper onto the seat.

Even though he had put a name to this emotion he was feeling, he didn't know what to do with it.

Tolerate it? Or share it with Sirius?

"Lucius?" Sirius eyed Lucius who had stood from his seat. "What's wrong?"

Lucius's icy gaze swept across him, and he shivered. It was as if Lucius had reverted back to the Ice Prince he once was before he met him.

He had heard from his mates that the Ice Prince was unapproachable to people, and that he was the only exception. He never thought that he would experience it with Lucius despite their close relationship.

"Lucius…" He grabbed his hand. "Don't close up towards me." His voice was urgent, pleading.

The icy blue eyes looked at him, filled with unreadable emotions, before they slowly melted.

"Sirius, I—I feel like I'm despicable. Why do I feel this way towards the Dark Lord, just because you said he was attractive…?" He had a dispirited look on his face.

"Lucius…" Sirius looked at Lucius concernedly. So he was totally unexperienced in matters like this, and was even blaming himself for it. "It's normal, so…" He pulled Lucius into an embrace. "Don't blame yourself. Even if I saw you with a girl, I would be totally jealous too."

"Is that so…" Lucius muttered.

"That's right." Sirius whispered into his ears, fingers weaving through Lucius's hair, eyeing his pale-white neck. "And I know a way to get rid of that feeling."

His lips touched Lucius's neck, and kissed tenderly. Like a slow escalation, the kiss became more aggressive, and Sirius withdrew when it was done.

"What were you doing?" Lucius's eyebrow furrowed together, not understanding Sirius's actions.

Sirius chuckled, and conjured a mirror.

"Look."

Sweeping Lucius's hair out of the way, Sirius revealed the red mark on Lucius's neck. It looked like an insect bite.

"It's a hickey—the proof that you're mine." Sirius informed, smiling as Lucius stared into the mirror curiously, fingers touching the mark. "You don't need to worry, since I'm yours too."

A delighted look appeared on Lucius face. "Then, let me do it on you too."

"Uh?" Before Sirius could stop Lucius, Lucius had already buried his head into his neck, sucking at the tender skin.

"Ahh…" Sirius gasped, and flinched when Lucius started biting. "That's not... how you do it…"

Nonetheless, Lucius did not stop until blood started trickling down from the wound.

"…" Eyeing the obvious teeth mark on his neck through the mirror, Sirius sighed. How was he going to face his friends now? The exposed hickey was glaringly obvious on his pale skin.

"Lucius…" Sirius said in a grave manner. "How am I going face everyone... with this?"

"Isn't it a proof? Then you'll have to show it." Lucius grinned. "That Sirius Black is taken. Then nobody will confess to you anymore."

"You…" Sirius's eyes widened in shock. "You knew?"

"How can I not." Lucius replied coldly. Countless of girls had confessed to Sirius in many creative ways, such as magic notes, letters, sending gifts; some had even confessed during classes. "Those girls are such riddance—I'm unable to tolerate it any longer."

It was a pleasant surprise to Sirius, and he couldn't help the grin appearing on his face. "Lucius~~~ I didn't know you were like this." He chuckled endearingly, completely unexpected that Lucius was so possessive.

Following his impulse, Sirius smashed his lips against Lucius's fervently, snaking his hands into Lucius's robes, feeling the other's bare skin. Lucius's body jerked in response, surprised at Sirius's touch.

"I want to see it… that tattoo." He said hoarsely, gazing feverishly into Lucius's eyes, before resuming the ravenous kiss.

Lucius's robes fell onto the floor.

Thrown into disarray by the kiss, Lucius was left gasping for breath and eyed Sirius that was prying his top off in an agonizingly slow manner. Sirius's lips curled up teasingly against Lucius's.

"You…" Lucius's eyes were teary through his long eyelids, and together with his red-tinted cheeks, looked absolutely shaggable. "Sure like tormenting me. Hurry up already."

Chuckling, Sirius pulled Lucius's top over his head, revealing his slender pale-white body.

Sirius's grey eyes scrutinized every part of Lucius body, causing Lucius to shift in discomfort, before landing on the tattoo. Looking with tender eyes, he touched the tattoo lightly with his fingers.

"This is the proof of our contract." He said solemnly, eyes staring into Lucius's. "And now, I'll perform another contract, which involves my blood instead." Slowly, he guided Lucius to lie on the floor. "Remember Voldemort's protective barrier? That's what I'm going to do."

Upon saying that, he slid his wrist without any hesitation with his sharpened nail. Lucius glanced anxiously at the blood flowing uncontrollably out of his wrist.

"Drink it." Sirius held his wrist above Lucius's mouth, and Lucius opened his mouth hesitantly, allowing the blood to drip into his mouth. Tasting the metallic flavour of Sirius's blood, Lucius's nose wrinkled up, but continued drinking Sirius's blood despite the taste.

Sirius started muttering incantations, closing his eyes in deep concentration.

Wind gathered in the closed room as the incantations started, and when nearing the end, blood incantations lighted up around them and converged towards Lucius, entering him.

"It's done." Sirius said, opening his eyes. "Now I'll have a tattoo on my chest too." He smiled, and started explaining. "This blood-bound will alert me if you face some form of danger through a squeeze of my heart, and I can instantly teleport to your position if needed to. You also gain the ability to use blood barrier, though you need to practice first before you're able to summon one. Want to try it out?"

Lucius nodded.

"Alright. You need to imagine projecting a thin film of blood that surrounds you. Close your eyes, and try imagining it." Sirius instructed.

Closing his eyes, Lucius felt an invisible energy flowing through him, and did as he was told.

"You're doing well. You just need to slightly thicken the barrier." Creasing his brows, Lucius tried hard to concentrate further.

"Alright, this time, make the barrier more even—there are several holes in it." Sirius said, and paused. "Okay, open your eyes."

Lucius opened his eyes to see a thin film of blood surrounding him like a dome. Just like what Voldemort did.

"Though it's a bit flimsy, you did well for your first try." Sirius smiled, poking the barrier with one finger, revealing a hole in it. "Now, you just need more practice."

As soon as Lucius lost concentration, the barrier shattered the next moment, dissipating into thin air. He felt a bit disappointed.

"The blood barrier is able to guard against even the killing curse, though its consumption is huge if it wards against more offensive spells. So use it wisely." Sirius said in a serious tone, before shifting into an easy-going smile. "Now that it's all over and done with, shall we continue with what we were doing?" Gripping Lucius's hand, Sirius pulled him closer, and planted a kiss on those rosy lips once more.

He could never get enough of Lucius. (A/N: If you're anticipating the shag, they're still young so, wait till they're few years older.)

…

Tom eyed the headlines of the Daily Prophet with a small smirk on his face, reaching out for the toast on his plate that was made by the individual beside him.

"They sure act fast." Tom commented, flipping the newspaper on the table, and started reading what the article had to say about him.

"Of course—especially with Voldemort's name on it." Regulus rolled his eyes, spreading the jam on his toast. "Peanut, chocolate or blueberry?"

"Hmm… chocolate?"

"Alright." Regulus reached for the chocolate jam, and started to apply it on Tom's toast and placed it on his plate. "Here."

Eyes not leaving the newspaper, Tom opened his mouth. "Ahhh…."

Instantly figuring out what Tom wanted, Regulus chuckled, placing the toast into Tom's mouth gently.

"Mmm…" Tom savoured the delicious toast. "I think I made quite an impactful statement, though they did say bad things about me at the end." He smirked and put down the newspaper. "Now… all that's left is convincing the goblin's and giant's tribe."

Regulus's eyebrows rose up. "Didn't you say that Dumbledore's closest with the giants? Why do you still want to convince them?"

"Indeed—Albus has quite a close relationship with the giants. But with this article, I implied that I have connections with the elves, goblins, vampires, giants and werewolves. He will surely not stay still, and visit all of them to find out their relationship with mine…. he would try to win over all of them if possible—that's how he is." Tom's eyes filled with distaste.

Regulus was enlightened straightaway. "So the news article was like a declaration of war towards Dumbledore?"

Tom nodded, smiling at Regulus for figuring out his plans quickly. "We're both competing by gathering forces on our sides. Be it in five, ten, or twenty years' time… whoever gathers the most will win the war. This is just the first step." Tom's charcoal eyes flashed ambitiously. "The rest would be winning the hearts of the masses. However, it's not time yet—The Ministry of Magic is still under Dumbledore's strict surveillance. Only when the Ministry of Magic start faltering will I then be able to launch my attack. And for that, I need you by my side… Regulus." Tom looked into Regulus's eyes searchingly. "I need not only your blood… I want you to be the Vampire Clan's representative."

Mouth parting in shock, the toast fell onto the table.

"Me? But…" Regulus's voice was hesitant.

Lacing his fingers through Regulus, Tom tried to assure him. "You're suitable for it. Charismatic, charming and most of all—I believe you are able to lead the other Vampires out of hiding. Right now, the Vampire's support is non-existent because of the discrimination they face. They have not forgotten the past. But if it's you, I believe you can convince them to help out with my cause."

"But…" Regulus shook his head, feeling the pressure from Tom. "Without the Queen—but she's already…" His voice trailed off, unable to continue his words.

Tom's gaze hardened. "I know… I have a solution, though, I'm not sure you would like it." His voice was indecisive, charcoal eyes wavering greatly.

Regulus questioningly looked into Tom's eyes.

"If it's us… we could do it. But before that…" Suddenly, Tom was kneeling down on one knee. Rummaging through his jacket, Tom quickly took out a small box.

With trembling fingers, he opened it, revealing a pair of shiny, black rings with a green snake coiled around it. "Will you marry me?" His charcoal eyes sincerely looked into grey ones that were overcome with emotion. "It doesn't matter whether you accept being the Vampire's representative. I… have realized how important you are to me, Regulus. No matter what, I don't want to separate with you—I'm unable to live without you anymore."

Those words were from the deep crevasses of his heart, what he had really thought after dating Regulus for several years now.

Regulus found that his vision had become bleary; tears had started forming in his eyes. Those words really hit him deeply in his heart—he had felt the same towards Tom all these while.

He tried hard to blink away the tears, but instead the tears kept forming, flowing down his cheeks like a waterfall.

"I agree." His voice was hoarse with emotions.

Having gotten Regulus's approval, Tom placed the box onto the table, and immediately kissed Regulus intensely, trying to hide the tears forming at the corner of his eyes.

"I love you so much, Regulus…" Tom choked out, finally tearing up when Regulus responded back to the kiss immediately. Towards Regulus, everything was a first.

It was the first he had fallen in love so deeply. It was the first that he decided to be with this man forever. And… their kiss would always make him feel helpless, making him feel like he had lost all control.

It was very unlike him to give dominance to someone—especially since he was also Voldemort, who had a domineering, ruthless personality.

That was when he had realized how much he loved Regulus.

"Me too." Regulus whispered, and kissed Tom back.

Their kiss was salty from both of their tears. Tom chuckled from the salty kiss, causing Regulus to chuckle too.

"Shall we?" He shot his heated gaze filled with uncontrollable lust into Regulus's eyes, grinding his erection against Regulus's body.

Regulus immediately stiffened. "It's morning right now..."

The sun was high up in the sky… and Tom wanted to do it?

Smirking, Tom wordlessly lifted Regulus, not listening to his excuses. "To commemorate the occasion." He snickered and strode towards their bedroom as Regulus flailed helplessly in his arms.

"Y-You…" Regulus stuttered.

He was thrown onto the bed, and Tom followed, the bed creaking as he pressed his weight down onto Regulus.

"Mmm…" Tom latched onto Regulus's lips, while his hands were busy with removing Regulus's clothes off, exposing his well-toned body. Giving in, Regulus also helped to remove Tom's clothes.

Tom's eyes brightened at Regulus's actions, lips smirking against Regulus's, and hands trailed down his body to his crotch.

"Ah!" Regulus cried out as Tom's hands wrapped around his erection, stroking intensely.

"You're really wet…" Tom observed Regulus's stained underwear. "Looks like… we'll have to change later, despite it being morning." He laughed, and tugged Regulus's underwear down.

Stripping off the last piece of clothing, and Tom looked appreciatively at Regulus's body that belonged to him.

"Regulus…" Tom caressed his name, full of desire. The other's body jerked in reaction to his name, blushing furiously.

"Tom…" Regulus whispered in the same manner, grey eyes meeting charcoal.

Leaning towards Regulus, their lips locked together, and Tom aggressively rubbed his erection against his.

The kiss started slow, tongues exploring each other's mouth. The intensity increased as the kiss went on, breathing becoming frenzied as their tongues twined around each other.

Regulus's hands coiled around Tom's nape, taking their kiss deeper until he was out of breath as they shifted their bodies together. Then their lips separated, leaving a trace of saliva between them.

"Looks like we both came." Tom had a sheepish look on his face, seeing the white mess on their bodies. But he was still very aroused, considering he was already half-erect.

Today, it seemed like he wouldn't be letting Regulus go.

Using their fluids, Tom pressed his finger against Regulus's entrance and it slipped inside easily. Scissoring inside and making sure that Regulus was thoroughly prepared, Tom couldn't wait any longer.

Pressing his erection against Regulus's entrance, he eyed Regulus for confirmation before inserting in slowly. Tom felt Regulus's heat engulfing him instantly and groaned, shivering from the sensation.

Grasping Regulus's hand, Tom pushed until he was totally sheathed inside him.

This was it. The feeling of completeness.

Feeling that he could ejaculate anytime inside of Regulus that was squeezing his erection so tightly, Tom tried to restrain himself, taking deep breaths.

Seeing Tom's excruciating expression, Regulus laughed and caressed his face, causing Tom's eyes to fly open, revealing his searing gaze.

"Look at me." Regulus spoke tenderly. "It's okay to not restrain yourself—we have all day."

"It's a matter of pride… though I guess you have a point." Following Regulus's words, Tom released inside him, and the inside of Regulus became slippery, making it easier for him to move.

"This is a one-time thing, so it won't happen next time." Tom's cheeks were red with embarrassment.

Regulus snickered. "I don't think so…"

Glaring, Tom captured Regulus's lips to shut him up, and started to increase his pace, causing Regulus to whimper against his lips.

"Tom…!" Regulus cried out, clutching his back as the intense thrusting had his mind go blank, unable to form any coherent sentence, only shouting and crying out in pleasure.

Tom clenched his teeth, feeling his pleasure reaching his peak once more, and released without hesitation.

"Ah…" He groaned, slowing down his pace, rocking his body gently against Regulus. It was incredible inside Regulus right now. His fluid from his past releases had made it really smooth.

As he thrusted, cum slowly emerged from Regulus's entrance. Tom eyed it dripping onto the bed, staining the sheets white. The amorous scene made his heart race, and he could not help but lick his lips, feeling his member hardening anew.

"Let's change positions." Tom suggested, and pulled Regulus on top of him.

"T-This…" Regulus stuttered.

"It's up to you to move—you can start slowly."

By slowing down their pace, this way he would be able to enjoy Regulus's reactions and also savour the agonizing pleasure at the same time, a change from fast-paced love making.

Regulus's face flushed as he realized Tom was eyeing him with an intense look from below.

This position was… too embarrassing.

Biting his lips, he moved minutely, and discovered Tom's member was hitting him deeply in this position—there was a sensation that was different from the usual.

"Hmm?" Tom's eyes twinkled, observing the change in Regulus.

Feeling Tom's member touching his insides intimately, Regulus could not help but moan whenever he moved, somehow ingraining his shape into his body.

Seeing this, Tom reacted, shoving his member into Regulus such that Regulus screamed, his body trembling from the intense pleasure.

"Mmm… Tom!" He cried, starting to tear up from the pleasure. "You're hitting me so deeply!" Regulus groaned, arching his back as he came, and his insides tightened around Tom when he climaxed.

"Regulus!" Tom shouted hoarsely, slamming into him as he came as well.

"Ah…" Regulus whimpered from the warm sensation he felt deep inside him.

Not extracting out Tom's member, Regulus leaned down and wrapped his hands around Tom's face, kissing him deeply, sucking his tongue and taking it in his mouth.

He was in an immense amount of bliss right now.

"Tom… I feel really, really happy..." He said with a bright smile, unable to suppress his feelings from flooding out. "I love you, Tom."

Eyes wavering greatly from Regulus's confession, Tom's cheeks tinted a faint red.

Right then, he had an inspiration. "Let's do the marriage rites in this position—there's nothing more appropriate than this." He proposed. It was the right moment where their bodies were connected together intimately. He gazed into Regulus's eyes for confirmation.

Regulus had a lump in his throat as he nodded.

Wandlessly, Tom summoned the small box that flew into the bedroom. Taking out the ring on the left, he took Regulus's left hand and slipped it on his fourth finger.

Gazing passionately into Regulus's eyes, he conducted the rites of marriage. " _I, Tom Marvolo Riddle, swear to love Regulus Arcturus Black for all eternity, will always be faithful, and comfort and protect him in troubled times. He is my life, as he is mine, and from this day onwards take Regulus Arcturus Black as my husband."_

Regulus followed in a formal tone. _"I, Regulus Arcturus Black, swear to love Tom Marvolo Riddle for all eternity, and dedicate my noble blood of Black to him, to support and care for him always. From this day onwards, I take Tom Marvolo Riddle as my partner, and I will share all his troubles and happiness together, never parting with him for life."_ He said, and slipped the other ring on Tom's finger.

Upon reciting their vows, the air around them seemed to be filled with an enormous amount of pressure, but dissipated the next moment. Following this, their rings started to tremble. Their vows were slowly being written onto the inner side of their partner's ring respectively.

Regulus beamed when he saw Tom's vow written on his ring. Slipping his ring back, he admired the ring in a disbelieving manner. "It's really pretty… thank you, Tom."

Tom smiled and stroked Regulus's hair in response, revelling in the fact that Regulus was now his. His husband. And the urge to completely monopolize him was now stronger than ever.

Feeling Tom's member hardening, Regulus's cheeks flushed. Hands latching onto Regulus's hips, Tom smirked and started moving, eyes locked into Regulus's intensely.

The monopolizing gaze took the Regulus's breath away, arousing his desire from deep within him. Regulus groaned, moving accordingly to Tom's thrusts, feeling Tom's member rubbing his insides tantalizingly.

He lost all self-control, grinding his hips vivaciously, crying out when he came into contact with his sweet spot.

"Ah, Tom!" Twitching profusely, clear fluids leaked out from his member like a broken tap, splattering all over Tom's chest.

Rarely seeing Regulus lose all his inhibitions, Tom took the chance to observe more of this side of Regulus, letting Regulus take control of their love-making, only moving his hips slightly when needed.

"Tom…" Regulus sighed, calling his name as he moved, not taking his eyes off the other. Spraying his hands all over his body, he peppered light kisses from his lips down to his neck and chest lovingly, marking Tom's body with love bites.

Eyeing his works, Regulus smirked possessively. Tom probably wouldn't notice it till afterwards—he snickered before continuing with what they were doing, riding Tom's member inside of him.

...

They lay in bed afterwards, totally exhausted from the continuous love-making, just kissing and looking into each other's eyes.

"Regulus…" Tom grasped Regulus's hands. "If it's us, I believe we can produce a Queen. Are you willing to?"

"…" Regulus's brows furrowed. "I do want to have a child with you, it's just—I don't believe I'm ready yet… to be a father."

Tom smiled, fingers caressing Regulus's hair. "It's isn't an urgent matter—so it doesn't matter how long it takes. I'll wait for you—till you're ready." With that, he softly kissed Regulus's lips.

Those two continued indulging in their own world.


	8. V1C8 - Before the Break (6)

"Is anything the matter, sir?" Sirius tilted his head questioningly, wondering why he was called to the headmaster's office.

Dumbledore jiggled the candy in the metal can. "Lemon drops?" He offered.

Seeing Sirius shake his head, and Dumbledore took one candy into his mouth before placing the metal can of candy back onto the table. Then, his gaze sharpened, bearing instantly transforming to one of seriousness.

"Sirius, I'd like to clarify some matters before we dive into more serious matters. I'm not all too sure with blood magic, but… I've never heard of people besides vampires being able to use blood magic. I had assumed that it is because vampire's blood is special. Is this true?"

Sirius nodded.

"Then, with regards to Voldemort using the blood barrier, how did you think he managed it?"

"I believe he took my brother's blood and did experiments with it, sir."

Seemingly expected this answer, Dumbledore furrowed his brows, before shooting the next question almost immediately. "Did you consider that perhaps, Regulus has been persuaded and made use of by Voldemort?" His piercing glance landed on Sirius, observing any minute changes in expression.

"Are you implying that my brother has betrayed the Order?" Without any pause, Sirius replied back with an arching eyebrow, trying to keep an impassive expression. Inside, he was enraged towards Dumbledore's question.

Not responding to Sirius's remark, Dumbledore spoke, "In the last confrontation with Voldemort, you had demanded Voldemort that he gave back your brother. That means you knew that he was alive. What are the possibilities that Regulus is alive and that Voldemort is keeping him prisoner, compared to him supporting Voldemort instead? After all, Voldemort is a manipulative person. He could have made your brother turn his back on the Order. If that is so, you are the only one who can convince Regulus to return back to our side. Don't you want to take him back from Voldemort?"

Gritting his teeth, Sirius glared at Dumbledore. "Did you summon me just for this? To make me into one of your puppet as well?" He sneered. "Why… I hardly think my brother will listen to my words… whether be it that I'm his brother. We were never that close anyway."

Taking a deep breath, Sirius continued his words. "Besides, I don't believe you have to qualification to make me try and convince him—be it you, or Voldemort, the both of you are trying to make use of him. Then what's so wrong with letting my brother choose as he wants? If he really has deflected to the dark side, then he must have seen something of value that doesn't exist on your side."

Sirius glowered at Dumbledore and left the office without a glance. Having said what he wanted, he didn't want to stay a minute longer.

Looking at Sirius's retreating back, Dumbledore sighed. It seemed like his plan on trying to convince Sirius to confront Voldemort to take back his brother was an impossible one.

Back at Sirius, he was still fuming from Dumbledore's words. To think that Dumbledore tried to make use of him, just like his brother.

He thought of the fact that Dumbledore had used his brother to get close to Voldemort—look at how that turned out. Now, he wasn't even sure whether how his brother was doing.

How was he right now? Was he doing fine? Or perhaps they had all guessed wrongly and that he was actually suffering at the hands of Voldemort?

Shaking his head, Sirius broke that train of thought. There was no point trying to second-guess it now.

What enraged he most was Dumbledore's discreet manipulation. Did he do this to his brother too?

However, he was not one to let others controlled him. The only exception was Lucius, and thinking of him, Sirius immediately sped up, not caring about the surroundings any longer. Everything around became a blur to him.

A black shadow passed swiftly by the students that loitered the hallways, taking them by surprise.

"What… was that?"

"That… wasn't a ghost was it?"

"No, it wasn't translucent. Besides, I'd never seen a ghost move that fast before."

"I thought I caught a glance of someone who had dark hair…"

Unable to come to a conclusion, they shivered at the unknown. This became one of Hogwarts' legends later on.

…

Stepping into the courtyard, Sirius's gaze softened, lips curling up into a smile when he saw the outline of the figure that was lying against a tree, reading a book.

Walking closer, he came into full view of Lucius. Under the sunlight, Lucius's blonde hair seemed white, and the reflection of his hair shined conspicuously around him like a halo, giving him an angelic impression. This was further strengthened with the pale tone of his skin that highlighted his icy blue eyes and rosy red lips.

Sirius thought he was seeing an angel coming to life. The view was so perfect that Sirius couldn't bear to tarnish it by disturbing Lucius who was reading his book absorbedly.

As if feeling a gaze on him, Lucius's brows furrowed. Looking up, he saw Sirius standing at the edge of the courtyard in a daze.

"… What the heck are you standing there in a daze for?"

Sirius inconspicuously tried to cover the blush that had made its way to his cheeks with one hand. "N-Nothing much."

Lucius's brows rose in response. "Are you coming over, or are you just going to keep standing?"

"Of course I'm coming." Sirius replied hurriedly. The next moment he had arrived beside Lucius, and took a peek at what Lucius was reading. "Ugh, muggle studies… Are you always studying all the time, Lucius?" Sirius rolled his eyes.

"'Course not." Lucius flipped the book shut. "I do many other things too."

"Like?"

Lucius thought for a while. "Playing with Rudy."

"That's hardly _a lot_." Sirius emphasised. "Add another. Spending time with me. As long you're with me, you won't be bored." He grinned roguishly.

Lucius chuckled, poking Sirius's nose in jest. "It's up to you to entertain me, then."

"By all means." Sirius laughed, slipping one arm slickly around Lucius and pressed their bodies together. "However, I've just ran out of ideas of what we could do." He smirked. "How about, we stay here and make out instead?" He teased, face leaning towards Lucius.

Seeing Sirius's face nearing his, Lucius's cheeks started reddening in anticipation.

"Seems like you're receptive to my idea." Cupping his face, Sirius kissed softly, tilting his head, repeatedly going for Lucius's lips as if he couldn't have enough. Their lips weaved together as Lucius responded with the same amount of fervour.

"Easter's break is coming up soon… will you to come to my mansion? I can't imagine not meeting you at all during the break—I won't be able to stand it." Sirius shifted back from the kiss and gazed with desire into Lucius's eyes, his words almost a whisper.

Hearing this, Lucius blushed and nodded. "I will go."

Sirius responded with a bright grin, capturing Lucius's lips once more and moved passionately, showing how delighted he was towards Lucius's response.

It would be their first break as a couple, and Sirius would cherish this chance to spend time together.

"Sirius!" A voice suddenly called out in the midst of their kiss. They both separated quickly, adjusting their robes such that what they did wouldn't be exposed. "Sorry for butting in, Lucius… I couldn't find Sirius, you see, so I had to use the Marauder's Map." James appeared in the courtyard, holding some sort of parchment in his hands.

He raised both of his eyebrows when he saw their positions, and coughed. "I sincerely apologize for disturbing both of your happy moment. Anyway, Sirius, it seems like you've forgotten the timing of the discussion of our history paper."

"Ah… was it today?" Sirius rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Used to Sirius's easy-going attitude, James turned towards Lucius. "Would you like to join? I'm sure your feedback will be valuable to us. You don't need to worry; it will be just me, Sirius and Remus. Peter said he already completed it."

"Lucius…" Sirius turned his expectant gaze towards him.

Seeing this, Lucius sighed. "Since I also haven't finished that paper, I can join, I guess. Where is it at?"

"An unused classroom. You can bring snacks, if you want." James grinned.

"No thanks."

…

Sirius groaned, twiddling his feather quill in his fingers, while looking at the parchment with his head resting on the table.

Attracted by the noise, both Remus and James turned their attention to their shiftless mate, shaking their heads upon seeing his parchment had only written a few lines.

On the other hand, Lucius, who was sitting next to Sirius was furrowing his brows in concentration as his quill scratched at a fast pace, parchment already filled to the brim.

"They're totally opposites…" James chuckled, his voice only audible to Remus next to him. Remus nodded lightly in agreement.

In the next minute or so, Lucius wrote down his last few lines and scanned through his paper. Satisfied after making a few adjustments here and there, he put down his quill and started stretching himself.

"Uh, Lucius, don't relax just yet. Your boyfriend needs help." James amusedly pointed out. Arching one eyebrow, Lucius saw Sirius's progress and his face morphed into the same expression that Remus and James had a minute ago.

"…"

Sighing, Lucius got up and sat right next to Sirius. Snatching the parchment into his hands, he frowned more deeply as he scanned through it.

"Sirius…" His tone was menacing as his eyes rose from the parchment. "Were you sleeping during lesson? Why are your points all so unclear, some not even making the least bit of sense?"

"That is…" Sirius shifted his body uncomfortably. "I didn't understand most of what the professor was talking about."

"That's because he didn't even pay attention in class." Remus inputted.

"That's right." James nodded.

"The two of you!" Sirius shouted, feeling utterly betrayed.

"Can't help you there, mate." James laughed. "Both Remus and I have decided to wash our hands off trying to help you revise, since there's someone else here more suitable who can discipline you. I'll leave him in your hands, Lucius." He winked.

Lucius's cheeks turned pink, while Sirius's turned pale from James's words.

"We won't intrude on the two of you so… Remus and I are going to the common room to continue our papers."

The two left, leaving Lucius and Sirius behind.

"Those two…" Sirius gritted his teeth. "I'll get them later."

"Did you say something?"

"N-No…"

"Ow! Don't pinch me, Lucius!"

Lucius threw an impassive look, and started explaining the points that could be used in the paper, elaborating as detailed as possible for Sirius's sake.

After some time later…

"Finished~~~!" Sirius threw the quill onto the table exasperatedly. "Lucius~ let me recharge…" Lucius was pulled in Sirius's lap, their faces almost touching each other.

Gazing into each other's eyes, Lucius felt his embarrassment rising, cheeks burning heatedly. Sirius's eyes were attracting him like a magnet, making him unable to look away.

"Lucius…" Sirius caressed his name softly, grey eyes glittering with molten desire.

Fingers weaving into Lucius's hair, he pressed his lips against Lucius's, gently sucking his lips as they kissed. It slowly escalated, but it was not enough for Sirius.

He prodded Lucius's lips with his tongue for entrance, snaking into his mouth when Lucius's lips parted, caressing Lucius's tongue intimately.

"Mmm…" Lucius moaned as their tongues danced together, the kiss so intense that it made his mind go blank.

Like a living being, their tongues darted in and out of each other's mouth, yearning for the other.

Having tousled up each other's hair as they moved passionately while kissing, when they drew back from the kiss, Lucius's heart skipped a beat when he saw Sirius's roguish look that complemented him extremely well, especially with his glowing red cheeks and grey eyes.

"Sirius…" Muttering his name yearningly, Lucius wrapped his arms around Sirius's neck and initiated the kiss, his tongue reaching out for the other.

"Ah…" Sirius moaned, responding back to Lucius's kiss fervently, their tongues coiling around each other, before gasping for air.

Teary-eyed, Lucius looked down at Sirius's hardened member, his expression troubled.

"I know…" Sirius smiled wryly. "You don't have to worry about it. Just continue…" Pushing the back of Lucius's head gently, he brought their lips together.

The kiss built up slowly, and starting to feel feverish, Sirius slipped his robes off before his hands slid to Lucius's jaw, tilting his head as he continued to kiss Lucius passionately.

Body touching Sirius's, Lucius could feel Sirius's member burning up as they kissed, distracting him immensely.

"Sirius… isn't it excruciating?" Despite his brows furrowing together, Lucius looked especially endearing with his tinted cheeks and bruised red lips.

A small smirk appeared on Sirius's face. "Do you want to help me out?" He snaked his hands into Lucius's robes, touching Lucius's member through his clothes. "Then, what about yours?"

"Ah!" Lucius whimpered, eyes looking dazedly into Sirius's eyes. "I only permit you to touch me. Nothing else."

"Got it." Extracting both of their erections out, he grinded their bodies together.

"Nnn…" Lucius moaned from the delicious friction, blushing when he realized Sirius's eyes were staring heatedly at him. He captured Sirius's lips out of embarrassment, hands fisting in Sirius's tousled hair.

Sirius chuckled, kissing back, and used one hand to wrap around their erections together, stroking vigorously while they kissed. Lucius moaned against Sirius's lips, moving his hips instinctively, rubbing against Sirius's hand.

Hands slicked with their fluids, Sirius stroked easily, increasing the pace.

"I'm cumming… Lucius." He said huskily, breaths intermingling together as they kissed softly.

In a few strokes he released, groaning as his fluid splattered against their stomachs. His hands did not stop, however, as he continued stroking Lucius's member.

Expertly, Sirius's thumb brushed back and forth the tip of Lucius's member, causing Lucius to whimper continuously, his hips trembling from the pleasure.

"Nnn, Sirius…" His disorderly breath indicated that he was about to reach the climax soon. Like a cat, he buried his face in the croon of Sirius's neck, not wanting Sirius to see his shameful expression.

"Wait, let me see your expression." Sirius tried to push Lucius back, but Lucius clung hard onto Sirius, not letting him go as he released.

They stayed in that position for a while, before Lucius separated his arms around Sirius albeit unwillingly.

"Lucius…" Gripping his chin, Sirius kissed him tenderly, signalling the end of their intimate session.

The next time would be during the break, where he would definitely make Lucius his.


	9. V1C9 - Words of Confessions (7)

A/N: Revelation and lots of R18.

"My distant cousins – Nacrissa and Bellatrix Black. They're sisters." Sirius introduced to Lucius his two cousins that were going to live in the mansion together with them during the break.

"Nice to meet you, Lucius Malfoy." The blonde-haired petite girl curtsied. "I've heard much about you from Sirius."

"You can call me Lucius." Just as Lucius was about to extend his hand out to Nacrissa, a high-pitched voice suddenly interrupted, causing Lucius to turn his attention towards it.

"He looks like a girl!" The girl with wavy dark hair exclaimed when she saw Lucius's long, flowing hair that could make every maiden jealous, her eyes scrutinizing Lucius from top to bottom.

"Bellatrix…" Sirius's tone was low and menacing. "What rude things are you saying?"

Ignoring his remark, she strutted in front of Lucius and leaned towards Lucius, face almost touching his. "Is this why you like him, Sirius? His looks are appealing, I suppose." She cackled.

Scowling, Sirius dragged Lucius away with one arm around his waist.

"Don't need to be so uptight, Sirius! I'm not interested in your lover." She waved her hands dismissively. "Since you are bringing him home, I'm curious to how he looks like up close."

She turned her gaze to Lucius. "I'm Bellatrix. And I'm sure we'll be meeting often during this period of time." Her lips curled up suggestively. "You're staying at Sirius's room, aren't you? Cissy and I will be rooming together, and our room will be opposite yours." Bellatrix talked non-stop as they walked out of the train station.

"We're attending Hogwarts next year, so it's an opportunity to get to know each other." Nacrissa smiled towards Lucius, as her sister tugged onto her arm beside her.

"That's right. And we'll be Slytherins too, unlike the failure of my cousin here." She glanced at the corner of her eyes at Sirius.

"Hey!" Sirius waved his fist threateningly at Bellatrix, who responded by sticking a tongue out at him.

Soon, they arrived at the Black Mansion in no time by a limousine.

The mansion was huge, comparable to the size of Malfoy Manor. The exterior was well-maintained with its black glossy finish. Surrounding the mansion were high hedges that acted like a barrier, full of barbs, clearly restricting others from trying to enter other than by the main entrance.

Walking through the tall metal gate, they were greeted by the butlers who took their belongings.

"There are no adults here. We're free to do whatever we want." Sirius smiled as he guided Lucius to his room. "My father gave me free reign when I requested it, but in compensation, I have to attend Nacrissa's and Bellatrix's party to celebrate their enrolment into Hogwarts next year." He rolled his eyes. "Thank Merlins that my father did not make me hold a party when I had just enrolled like them. I would have been bored to death."

As Sirius talked, they had arrived in front of his room. Opening the door for Lucius, the room lighted up instantly as soon as he stepped in, revealing a vast room with fanciful furnishings all around him.

Yet Lucius only swept a glance disinterestedly, not batting an eyelid for he was already used to this type of extravagant rooms at his own manor.

Once the door was shut and privacy ward erected, Lucius turned towards Sirius.

"I'd like to ask something that I've been curious about, after meeting your cousins."

Sirius had a knowing look on his face. He sat down onto a couch, patting the empty space beside him. "Come here and I'll explain."

Sitting down onto the couch, Sirius had immediately slung his arms around Lucius with a smirk on his face, enjoying the contact.

Hardly minding their close proximity, Lucius went right down to business.

"So, are your cousins vampires?"

"No. Right now they're not." Sirius shook his head, fingers weaving through Lucius's hair as he spoke. "They were born as normal humans, but they have vampire's blood in them."

Lucius's brows rose in curiosity. "Mind elaborating more?"

He raised two fingers. "There are two methods vampires can be produced. Firstly, through blood relations. This includes me, Nacrissa and Bellatrix. The reason that I am a vampire is because both my parents are vampires. However, for Nacrissa's and Bellatrix's case, their mother was a human when she gave birth to them. Thus, their blood is not awakened at birth."

"Not awakened…" Lucius's eyes widened in realization. "You mean there's a way to transform them into vampires?"

Sirius nodded. "That's right. It's actually quite an easy process. They only just have to perform a ceremony in their case. As for the second method, that's where transforming a human into a vampire comes into the picture—it may be applicable to you. After the human transforms into a vampire, their features will become more pronounced, making them even more attractive. Lucius, you'll definitely be stunning when you become one." Sirius grinned suggestively.

Lucius rolled his eyes. "Just that?"

"Not only that." Sirius gazed intensely into Lucius's eyes. "If possible, I hope you become one, that is, if you plan to be with me forever." His tone was hesitant, for despite knowing that Lucius had feelings for him, he didn't know how deep it was.

Was Lucius's depth of affection for him the same he felt for Lucius?

"Ahaha… what am I saying. Of course you don't know yet, right, Lucius?"

"…" Lucius's expression was unreadable.

"I diverged out of point… anyways; the second method involves more complicated procedures. The vampire has to transfuse around half of his blood to the human. This is to ensure that the human will have enough vampire blood for the ceremony to take place. This process takes the most out of the human, as vampire blood will cause a backlash in the human's system. If the human is left as it is, organs will start failing, and perhaps even kill the human before the ceremony can take place. Therefore, a skilled vampire is needed to perform the ceremony as fast as possible."

He gazed into Lucius's eyes. "Don't you want to know the lifespan of a vampire?" His tone was almost inaudible.

Lucius nodded. It was concerning Sirius after all.

"We can live as long as we are not killed." Sirius said solemnly. "In the previous war, vampires had suffered immensely from the war. Many of the elders that have lived for millennia were killed, and our society started falling apart, especially with the death of the Queen." He sighed. "The death of the Queen caused the King to become withdrawn, never appearing in front of the vampires again. I suspect he went into forced sleep—we call it hibernation."

Seeing Lucius's eyebrows that had furrowed up upon hearing many unknown terms, Sirius chuckled, lightly tapping his finger at the centre of Lucius's forehead, dispersing the crease that had formed there.

"A Queen has the power to lead over the female vampires. The King plays the same role, just leading the male vampires. To make the vampire society prosperous, the both of them have to come together and lead the vampires once more. Right now, the vampires have all gone their own ways, some in hiding, while others like us; choose to mix within the wizarding community."

Brushing Lucius's cheeks with his thumb, Sirius gazed passionately into Lucius's eyes. "I'm glad my family didn't go into hiding—or else, I wouldn't have met you, Lucius…" Lightly cupping his cheeks, he leaned forward, kissing Lucius tenderly, like the rain.

"I love you, Lucius. You know that right?" He placed Lucius's hand over his heart, an anxious look on his face. "Look at how fast my heart's beating. I can't help but feel that… my feelings may not be reciprocated, and you may leave me anytime…" His tone wavered uncertainly. "You don't tell me anything about yourself. Every time I try to ask matters about you, you will try to evade them."

His gaze searched into Lucius's eyes. "Am I wrong? Or are you going to say that I'm overthinking this?" He held Lucius's hand, waiting for his answer.

Lucius's eyes were like ice, trying to withhold the emotions within.

Looking into Lucius's cold eyes, Sirius knew he had guessed right. Whenever Lucius became this way, it was because he was hiding something from him.

Before Sirius could say anything further, he was pushed down onto the couch roughly.

Mouth forming into a sneer, Lucius's hand latched onto Sirius's erection. "Did you think I wouldn't notice this?"

Moving his hands diligently, he slid down Sirius's pants and underwear, cupping Sirius's erection in his hands.

"What are you doing, Lucius!" Sirius's eyes were wide at Lucius's explicit actions, completely dumbfounded at what was happening.

Ignoring Sirius's shouts, he moved his hands, stroking his shaft as he leant down to take it into his mouth. His tongue twirled around the tip of Sirius's member as he moved his head up and down slowly.

"Nnn… argh, Lucius! Why are so good at this!" Sirius clenched his teeth from the mind-blowing pleasure he was receiving from Lucius's hot and wet mouth that was further exacerbated with his various administrations.

"I practiced… on a lollipop." Lucius finally spoke, before going back to taking Sirius's member deep into his mouth, fingers cupping around the base, squeezing him.

Sirius gasped, hips jerking up instinctively. "If you continue in this way—I…" He tried to pry Lucius off him.

"No." Lucius's slender fingers stroked his shaft more vigorously, caressing the tip of Sirius's member his tongue. "I want to see you cum." His icy blue eyes could not contain the lustful desire as he looked into Sirius's face.

Sirius groaned loudly, his fingers digging into Lucius's blonde hair as he climaxed, shooting into Lucius's mouth.

Lucius swallowed despite the thick and bitter taste in his mouth, and smirked at Sirius who was in a daze after his climax. "My turn now…"

Undressing himself, he inserted two fingers into Sirius's mouth and stirred up Sirius's tongue, making him moan slightly from the stimulation.

Sirius shot Lucius an urgent look, shaking his head desperately as Lucius moved his fingers in his mouth.

Lucius chuckled, not stopping in his actions. Before long, he extracted his fingers from Sirius's mouth, leaving a trail of saliva that down his lips.

Sirius looked especially salacious right now… too bad, he knew Sirius wouldn't compromise.

When he saw that Lucius had inserted his fingers into his own entrance, Sirius's expression was disbelieving. He had thought… Lucius would try to do him instead.

"Nnhhh…" Lucius moaned as he massaged his insides, enlarging it so it wouldn't hurt afterwards. Biting his lips, he slowly inserted more fingers inside him.

His expression was really sexy, capturing Sirius who gazed dazedly at Lucius's actions.

"It should be fine now." Lucius muttered, and brought his body down, using his weight to push Sirius's member inside him. In one dash, he was filled to the brim, and Lucius gasped, body trembling due to the searing pain from his first penetration.

"Nnngh, tight… Lucius…" Sirius groaned, feeling suffocated from how Lucius was squeezing so tightly around him, making his face contort with both pleasure and agony.

Lucius stayed in that position for a while, not moving as he needed to adjust to the foreign sensation in his body. At the same time he noticed Sirius's member swelling inside him, making it more strenuous for him to adapt.

Slowly, Lucius moved, trying to ease the discomfort by stroking his own member to distract himself. It worked quite well. Adjusting to a pace to one he was comfortable with, Lucius began to feel gradually feel pleasure whenever he moved his body, and every thrust had Lucius whimper from how deep it hit his insides.

For him, Sirius filled him up both physically and mentally, filling up the gaping hole he had in his heart. With a lump in his throat, he recalled the embraces that Sirius had always gave him. Yearning for Sirius's warm embraces, Lucius pulled Sirius up from the couch and slipped his arms around him.

Seeing Lucius's cold demeanour fade away when he embraced him, Sirius immediately wrapped his arms around him tightly, burying his nose into his flowing hair.

"Lucius…" From the embrace, he clearly felt Lucius's reliance on him. This meant he still had hope yet to convince Lucius to confide in him.

"Don't try and distract me, Lucius. Tell me everything… don't hide anything from me." He pleaded in a distraught expression. "Do you still not trust me?"

Caressing the sides of his face with both hands, Lucius peppered kisses on his face, trying to soothe him.

"Please." Sirius covered Lucius's hands tightly and earnestly gazed into Lucius. The gaze contained boundless of affection towards him, moving Lucius.

Eyes fluttering shut, the next moment, he opened his eyes that were filled with conviction.

"My father, he's a cold, calculating and controlling person." Lucius started bitterly. "From young, he had always treated me coldly, like I was never his child, but a stranger. The only reason for raising me was to bear an heir—he had already planned out my life for me. After graduating from Hogwarts, he would immediately arrange a marriage for me, that is, most likely from a pure-blood family. To ensure that he would be able to find me even if I ran away from home, he casted an ancient tracking spell on me that allows him to know my position no matter what."

Lucius gazed sorrowfully into Sirius's eyes. "Now do you understand why I hid this from you? Our relationship… isn't going to last. Even if I told you, it would be useless and it would only cause you unnecessary worry—and the most important thing is that I feel absolutely guilty towards you. Because of my thoughtless decision to accept your confession, you'll be the one suffering when the time comes." His voice started trembling, face wrecked in pain. "I know how much you care about me. And I feel the same towards you. I wasn't supposed to fall in love—it wasn't in my plans, especially with what my father had planned for me. Yet, you barged into my life, and I couldn't help but fall in love with you, Sirius." Tears started falling from the corner of his eyes.

To him, Sirius had made his life as it was now.

It didn't matter to him whether he had any friends. He was always contented with being alone.

However, now, he knew what it was like being lonely. It had confused him how much it hurt, when he experienced loneliness for the first time.

The crushing, constricting sense of would sweep across him whenever he was separated with Sirius, and he found himself reminiscing the fun they had together, the warmth that Sirius brought him every time.

Lucius had realized how much Sirius meant to him—there was no mistaking it, he had already fell for him ages ago. And after being with Sirius, his days became filled with joy and happiness, something he couldn't have imagined before.

"I won't fault you if you leave me after hearing this." He heartbreakingly said in a whisper. It would be unbearable after all, for someone you love to marry another person. He would not be able to stand it.

The same would go for Sirius.

"No. Don't say that." Sirius had a strained look on his face as he gripped Lucius's hand. "I won't leave you. Not now, not ever."

Through Lucius's words of confession, Sirius belatedly realized that Lucius's feelings were the same as him after all. Yet at the same time, Lucius was bounded to his father, unable to escape from his palms of control.

Fate was cruel, not allowing the both of them to be together despite their reciprocating feelings for each other.

Lucius cupped his face tenderly; lightly brushing the corner of Sirius's reddening eyes. "Don't beat yourself over it. For now… just enjoy the moments together." Face leaning towards Sirius, Lucius kissed softly on his lips, trying to distract him.

Tears ran down Sirius's cheeks as he responded to the kiss ferociously. He certainly had no idea how to help Lucius right now, mind totally in a mess.

Why…

He fastened his hands around Lucius, lips trembling as he kissed.

Why did Lucius have to meet such a fate?

His breath choked in his throat, and he found himself gasping for breath between kisses.

Was it so hard for him and Lucius to be happy?

He wrapped his arms possessively around Lucius. "Lucius… you know how much I love you, right? Believe me. I'll definitely try to find a way for you to escape from your father's control." He said hoarsely.

Lucius's eyes were filled with acknowledgment. "I believe you." Even if Sirius couldn't fulfil his promise, Lucius was still grateful at the thought of Sirius trying to help him.

Their lips smashed together desperately, containing certain sorrowfulness in the kiss. Tongues weaving together, they seemed to not let each other go.

"Mm…" Lucius wrapped his arms around Sirius's neck, kissing deeper. "I love you, Sirius." Lucius gazed into the grey eyes. "You were the only one there for me, always, and I believe so in the future as well." He had a small smile on his face as he said those words.

The trust that Lucius had put in him touched Sirius.

"I will." He embraced Lucius, nuzzling their heads together lovingly.

They stayed in that position for a while, embracing and hearing each other's heartbeats.

After the both of them calmed down, the first one to move was Sirius. He cradled Lucius in his arms and headed towards the bedroom.

When Lucius saw the double sized bed Sirius had prepared, he blushed and gave an accusing look at Sirius. "So you've already planned this."

"I wanted to make you mine this break, no matter what." Sirius admitted. "Though what happened earlier was completely out of my expectations." He put Lucius down gently down onto the bed. "Shall we continue?" He gazed heatedly into Lucius's eyes. "I want to make love to you. Especially since I know your feelings now."

A red blush made its way to Lucius's cheeks, before nodding silently.

Climbing onto the bed, Sirius appreciatively looked at Lucius's naked glory, his gaze stopping at his pale thighs. Spreading them apart, he eyed Lucius as he slid in.

Lucius's insides squeezed around him tightly, making him groan. Sirius extracted till the tip and buried himself slowly until he was fully sheathed, enjoying as he rubbed against Lucius's insides.

"Unn…." Lucius whimpered, hips gyrating in impatience every time Sirius buried inside him. "I want it harder, Sirius." Previously he had already adjusted to Sirius's length, and wanted to feel more from Sirius.

Complying, Sirius slammed in harder, making Lucius's body jerk from each thrust. The continuous slamming made Lucius's mind go blank, leaving him to only feel pleasure building up steadily.

"Ah!" His insides suddenly tingled when Sirius brushed by a certain spot.

Noticing the reaction, Sirius immediately thrusted mercilessly at that spot, and Lucius's whimpers became more extended and louder.

Trying to prevent himself from emitting any more cries, Lucius tried to cover his mouth with the back of his hand, but it was obstructed by Sirius who gripped his wrist, holding it down.

"Hah… ah…" The pleasurable moans were like music to Sirius's ears.

Drowning in waves of pleasure, Lucius's mouth parted open, eyes bleary. Every single time Sirius slammed intensely into him, Lucius would gasp wildly.

He had no idea how his body had as if became a sensual organ, reacting to every single thing that Sirius did.

"Seems like you're really turned on, Lucius…" Sirius eyed Lucius's erected member that was leaking profusely with transparent fluids.

Even without touching Lucius's member, Lucius was already reaching the peak. Arms reaching out for Sirius, Lucius looped his arms around his neck as he ejaculated, allowing Sirius to see his expression this time.

Eyes fluttering shut, Lucius's face contorted with pleasure as his body quivered, clenching onto Sirius's member tightly, causing Sirius to stop in his movements.

When the orgasm died down, Sirius leaned down to take Lucius's lips, smashing their lips together. Their tongues appeared early, coiling around each other passionately.

Both engrossed in the kiss, Lucius's hands trailed down Sirius's body, first time appreciating how built Sirius was compared to him, feeling his taut muscles in his palms. On the other hand, he barely had any muscle, and he decided he had to start working out his body.

Feeling Lucius's hands exploring his body, Sirius chuckled against Lucius's lips, grey eyes gazing into him. "Do you like my body?" He asked teasingly, enjoying Lucius's cheeks reddening like an apple. "There's no need to be so embarrassed—we're already engaging in such intimate acts now."

As if reminding him, his hips gyrated, grinding his member inside Lucius, rubbing intimately.

"Nnn…" Lucius whimpered, throwing his head back from the friction. His breath became harsher and hotter, feeling traces of pleasure as Sirius shallowly darted in and out of him.

Seeing Lucius's hardening member, Sirius smirked and accelerated the pace, working his hips faster, harder. Sirius's stamina was seemingly boundless, every thrust sending Lucius over the edge as he felt his sensitive spot being prodded over and over again.

In just a few moments, Lucius climaxed, insides tightening around Sirius.

"Lucius!" Sirius groaned, finally ejaculating inside with few final thrusts. The warm sensation spread deep inside, and Lucius whimpered from being filled.

Extracting out his member, Sirius looked ravenously at Lucius's entrance that had once swallowed him up, before rolling Lucius's body to the side and lay beside him, spooning Lucius, and wrapping his arms around him possessively.

Feeling Sirius's member that was growing on his back side, Lucius's brows furrowed.

"You sure are energetic." He remarked.

"Because it's you." Sirius's breath softly blew into his ear, tickling Lucius. "I'm considering for you by doing it in this position…" Burying his head into Lucius's hair, Sirius curled his body around his as he slid easily into Lucius.

"Comfortable?" He grinned against his ears.

"Mmm… Do more of the ear thing, actually." Lucius slurred his words out languidly.

Complying with his demands, Sirius nibbled his earlobe, licking the outer corners, tongue slowly making its way towards the inner part of the ear.

"Ah!" Lucius shivered, the stimulation turning him on. Hands wrapping around Lucius's erection, Sirius thrusted, stroked and licked at the same time. The combined stimulation was mind-blowing, making Lucius grind his erection against Sirius's hands instinctively.

In just a few more thrusts by Sirius, Lucius came once more, and Sirius followed, releasing inside Lucius while wrapping his arms around him tightly.

"I won't let you go, Lucius. Ever." Turning Lucius's face to his, Sirius said in a vow-like manner. Lucius teared up, knowing that he was referring to what they had discussed earlier.

…

"Were the both of you not able to leave your hands from each other? I was already hungry since six." Bellatrix grumbled to Sirius who came out of the room alone.

Sirius looked at Bellatrix apologetically. "I'm afraid we have to dine our dinner separately today."

Bellatrix's eyes widened wide in realization. "So I was slightly off the mark—I thought you would take several days to ease him into it. Looks like I have to rejudge you again, cousin."

"It wasn't really my credit…" Sirius ruffled his hair reservedly.

"Hmm~~" Bellatrix's lips curled up into a smirk. "This means Lucius must have really taken to you. You should really cherish him, Sirius. We vampires rarely are able to find life-long partners."

"I know that already." Clenching his fists, Sirius's eyes flashed determinedly, before his glance flickered towards Bellatrix complicatedly. "Though, it feels weird having you telling me these things, considering your age."

"I'm mature for my age." Bellatrix cackled. "Well, let's go get dinner." She strutted towards the kitchen.

…

Twirling the pasta around the fork, Sirius gently prodded against Lucius's lips. Lucius unwillingly opened his mouth a bit hesitantly, eyeing Sirius who was feeding him with a wide grin on his face.

"This doesn't have to do with me being unable to stand up properly, Sirius."

"Hmm…?" Sirius's eyes twinkled mischievously. "Think it as my compensation for that—I'll treat you as gentlemanly as I possibly can until you recover."

Lucius sighed. "You just want to use it as an excuse to feed me, don't you?"

Another grin confirmed his words as Sirius fed him diligently. "Ahh?"

"Ahh…"

"Good job." Sirius inserted the pasta into Lucius's mouth and wiped the corners with a tissue. Pouting from Sirius's actions, Lucius glared with pink cheeks, looking especially adorable.

"Lucius…" Murmuring his name, Sirius poured the apple juice he had brought into his mouth before pressing his lips onto Lucius, the juice slowly trickling into Lucius's mouth.

The kiss was careful and slow so as to not let the juice spill.

"Mmm…" Lucius swallowed the juice, eyes gazing heatedly into Sirius's. "Is this your plan?"

Smirking and not saying anything, Sirius continued feeding and kissing Lucius.

"I think you're a genius… at this type of stuff." Lucius's breath hitched as Sirius's lips trailed heated kisses along his throat and down towards his neck, lighting his skin ablaze wherever he touched him. Lucius already had no thoughts of resisting Sirius, for the countless of kisses Sirius had gave him previously made him really hot and bothered.

"I just think of ways to incite you. There's this too." Sirius smirked, lips trailing to his nipple and swirled his tongue around. Hardly observing any changes to Lucius's expression, Sirius nibbled and sucked more forcefully, and the nipples started to redden and perk up.

At first, there wasn't any notable sensation, but as time went by, Lucius could feel heat pooling to his groins. There was a small trace of pleasure every time his nipples were stroked.

"How is it…?" Sirius's hot tongue swirled around his nipple, his fingers fiddling the other non-stop. "Pleasurable?"

Lucius nodded, though after experiencing Sirius's member inside him, it was more muted in comparison. It only added to more torture to his current situation.

Member already completely hardened from all the teasing from Sirius, Lucius knew only Sirius only could put an end to this torment.

"I can't take it anymore—just enter me already." Lucius pleaded hoarsely.

Sirius's eyes widened. "Even though you're aching?" He asked worriedly. He had planned to pleasure Lucius for the rest of the night like this without penetrating him.

"Don't make me say more…" Lucius's tone was sultry, lips brushing against Sirius's face. "You made me like this—I want you, Sirius. Whether I'm aching doesn't matter…" His delicate fingers wrapped around Sirius's hardening member, showing his desire for him.

Sirius felt his remaining restraints breaking apart.

He chuckled wryly. "And I here thought _I_ was the more lustful one." He said, lifting Lucius.

Realizing that Sirius was not bringing him towards the bedroom, Lucius shot a puzzled look back at Sirius.

"It's one of my wishes to do it in the bathroom, and well… later you'll see." Sirius's gaze glazed over Lucius, imagining the things he could do. When he realized he was daydreaming, he snapped out of it, clearing his throat. "Anyway, I'll clean your body at the same time. It's a great idea, isn't it?" He said enthusiastically with a wide, childish grin on his face.

Seeing how excited Sirius was, Lucius couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped his throat.

Entering the lavish bathroom, it was as if they stepped into another room. In the centre of the vast space sat a large tub that was overflowing with bubbles. Around it were various bottles with labels on them.

Stripping their clothes, the both of them made their way towards the tub. Dipping one leg in, Lucius found that the temperature was cool and refreshing. When he slid into the water, he found that his exhaustion from previously was slowly slipping away.

Stretching his body to test the effectiveness, Lucius realized to his surprise that his vigour had returned. Even his ache had gone away.

"So this tub had therapeutic properties…" He muttered with an incredulous tone, glancing at Sirius who had a knowing grin on his face.

"I wasn't sure if it could help your ache, though, because it doesn't do much to injuries." Sirius sifted through the water towards Lucius. "So, how is it?" His arms twined around his waist, fingers probing his entrance. "Does it still hurt?"

Feeling Sirius's fingers, Lucius's cheeks reddened, shaking his head. "It should be alright now."

A low, guttural sound of satisfaction resounded from Sirius's throat. This meant that he didn't need to mind about whether there were any side-effects, and instead could just focus on making love to Lucius.

However, he wasn't that urgent at the moment. Right now, he just wanted to bathe together with Lucius.

He led Lucius to where the bottles were, explaining to him their usage.

"So there's shampoo, conditioner, and bath foam?" Lucius repeated what Sirius said.

"There are also bottles for scents, but I don't want you to use it."

Lucius's eyebrow quirked up quizzingly.

"I can smell your scent distinctively. Vampire, remember?" Sirius reminded. "I don't want to mix in other scents—only yours." With that said, he brought Lucius's hair to his nose, inhaling deeply, making Lucius blush. "I can perhaps smell you about several miles away—since I'm very used to your scent." He grinned widely, revealing his retracted fangs. "As for the others, I only can recognize their scents only if they're close to where I am."

"Then… you'll be able to find me, no matter what?" Lucius teased.

Sirius nodded. "As long you're within my range."

"My personal stalker…" Lucius's lips curled up into a smirk.

"Hey, hey…"

Lucius suddenly thought about something. "Speaking of which—why haven't your cousins performed the ceremony to become vampires yet?"

"That's because their parents don't want the school to find out they're vampires, though the old fogey already probably knows…" Sirius added as an afterthought. "Like my case—even though I was particularly careful about it, in the end I was exposed by you. They do not want to take the chances."

"I see…" Lucius's brows scrunched up in worry. "Then, isn't it bad that I know about it? Even if I do not say anything, there might be a chance that someone might forcefully try to read my memories and come to know about it."

Sirius's face hardened. "That's…" He never thought about it too deeply, but it was as Lucius said. "There's only one feasible solution, and that's for you to become one of us."

Hearing this, Lucius shook his head. "I have no qualms about turning into one, but wouldn't it be too obvious from my changed appearance? My father would know about it. If he realizes how intimate I am with you, he may try to use you instead—worse, even expose your whole family."

"Then…" Sirius desperately racked his brain for other ideas, but couldn't find any.

"For now, it should be alright." Clasping Sirius's hand, he assured him. "When you find a solution regarding my father and I manage to tear away from my father's control, I will become a vampire. I promise you."

…

"This shampoo makes so many bubbles." Looking into the mirror, Lucius laughed at the bubbles that stacked on his hair like a huge helmet. Behind him, Sirius was playfully lathering his hair, making the bubbles grow continuously.

"Enough, Sirius…" Lucius reached backwards with both hands, trying to prevent Sirius whose eyes twinkled with irrepressible mischief.

Sirius continued to weave his hands in and out of the bubbles. "Ta-dah!" He grinned roguishly, hands finally leaving Lucius's hair.

"Huh?" Lucius was stupefied to see the bubbles forming into rabbit ears. "Sirius!" He chided from the childishness.

"You look cute as a rabbit." Sirius snickered. "One delicious rabbit for me, the big bad wolf…" Throwing out the innuendo, he gave a sensual look at Lucius.

Of course, Lucius knew what it meant, cheeks turning pink.

"And the rabbit is going to get eaten up by me…" Sirius's hands traversed towards Lucius's arse, squeezing them firmly and grinded their erections together suggestively.

"Who's going to get eaten up?!" Blushing furiously, Lucius squeezed Sirius's balls with one hand, the other palming his tip, making Sirius cry out.

"L-Lucius…" Sirius groaned.

Still dissatisfied from Sirius's response, Lucius grunted and went down on Sirius. He wrapped his hands around Sirius's butt cheeks and pushed him forward, taking him deep in his throat.

"Mmm… it's hot, Lucius." Sirius's breath quivered as Lucius deep-throated him, his member hitting the back of the throat. In total rapture, Sirius moved his hips, enlarging inside Lucius's mouth.

Lucius went down a few more times before withdrawing, replacing with his hand to stroke him.

Licking the remaining saliva on his lips from performing the blow-job, Lucius leaned against the wall, his back facing Sirius.

"I want you." He shot a gaze full of desire at Sirius.

Without any hesitation, Sirius latched his hands onto his hips, slipping into Lucius. Previously, he had already prepared Lucius thoroughly with various lubricants in the bathroom, so it wasn't painful for Lucius despite being penetrated the second time.

"Mn…" Sirius breathed heavily into Lucius's ears, nibbling them as he moved. "This position isn't that bad." He asserted. He was able to stroke Lucius's member while moving at the same time.

As for Lucius, he felt Sirius burying deep inside him, sliding across his inner organs intimately. His body stiffened from the pleasure, and whenever he leaned backwards, Sirius's member would slide deeper into him.

"Lucius…" Sirius turned his face around to kiss him while thrusting quickly and shortly. The lubricant was effective in allowing Sirius to speed up easily.

Hands placing on the wall for support, Lucius closed his eyes, isolating his senses to feel Sirius thoroughly.

"Hah… ah, Sirius, there…" His sensitive spot had swollen up and allowed Sirius to locate it easily, aiming at that direction as he thrusted in at a rapid pace.

Sirius bit Lucius's ear lustily, drowning in pleasure inside him. "Merlin, Lucius… it's incredible… your insides, it's sucking me up."

From the back, Sirius could see Lucius had reddened to the tip of his ears and felt Lucius's insides clenching him when he said those words.

"So you love me talking dirty?" Sirius smirked.

Lucius shook his head hastily.

Seeing Lucius's denial, Sirius chuckled and latched onto Lucius's lips fervently, his tongue meeting Lucius's in his mouth. Their heads moved as they coiled their tongues passionately. Kissing as they made love, Sirius realized he had reached the peak sooner than expected.

It was the same for Lucius.

"Nnn…" Lucius moaned. "Cumming…"

"Me too…"

One hand reaching for Lucius's, Sirius laced through Lucius's hand possessively as they came one after another. Lightly kissing each other with closed eyes, they revelled in the high of their orgasm.

A/N: Next week I have exams, so the next update will be probably during weekends (if possible). Also, tell me your thoughts about this chapter^^.


	10. V1C10 - Impulse?

A/N: Sorry for long hiatus.

Bellatrix twirled around in her black, lace dress that complemented her pale toned skin and dark wavy hair. The dress exposed her back down to the waist, revealing portions of pale, baby-smooth skin behind waves of dark hair. One look and anyone could tell she would grow up to be a striking beauty.

"How do I look, the both of you?" She threw the question to the couple, who was sitting quite intimately on the couch. Sirius's arm was slung around Lucius's shoulder, holding Lucius in a tight embrace, letting Lucius lean against him and in turn, Lucius interlaced his fingers together with Sirius's other hand, fingers twisting together.

Not expecting this, Sirius gazed at Lucius, who averted his gaze, except that the tips of his ears were red.

Bellatrix's lips pouted distastefully at this scene, giving a glower towards Sirius, expressing her dissatisfaction.

"Am I the focus or he is?"

The corner of Sirius's lips turned up, eyes staring back at Bellatrix confrontationally.

"What do you think?"

This answer further antagonized Bellatrix, who seemed to spit fire from her eyes. "You… Hmph! Fine, I don't need your opinion!" She turned her eyes towards the person by his side. "Lucius, how do I look?"

Although slightly surprised that Bellatrix would consult his opinion, Lucius immediately reacted, giving an acknowledging nod, small smile on his lips while admiring Bellatrix's dress.

"Stunning. The dress definitely complements well with your style and figure… there's no doubt you'll dazzle the whole crowd with how you look."

Bellatrix's eyelids fluttered in appreciation and delight, cheeks turning a rosy red from Lucius's compliment. She leaned forward, giggling while saying, "If not for my cousin here, I'll probably kiss your cheeks right now. Makes me want to steal you away from…"

Her gaze flickered provocatively towards Sirius, but was disappointed to find that his face remained calm except for the smile on his lips.

"If you're trying to provoke me, you're failing." Sirius pointed out, hand purposely caressing through Lucius's hair, as if showing off his stake on Lucius.

"Tsk." Finding that Sirius saw right through her, Bellatrix clicked her tongue.

A small sound of giggle beside Bellatrix captured everyone's attention.

Everyone turned to the figure that was dressed in white, Nacrissa. Stature alike Bellatrix, if not for the different colour hair and eyes, they looked almost the same.

The pair of sisters were wearing black and white in contrasting colours, complementing their features, which was also incidentally indicative of their contrasting personality.

"The both of you look good together." Nacrissa said, eyes twinkling at Lucius that was comfortably lying in Sirius's embrace.

No one was aware of Sirius's eyes narrowing at Nacrissa's words in that small fraction of time.

"Hahaha-Lucius's perfect, isn't he?" Not missing a beat, Sirius boastfully remarked, grinning impishly as he turned towards Bellatrix, who almost bit her tongue when she saw his eyes.

Those were the eyes that threatened to eradicate anyone that would hurt Lucius.

Immediately, she understood, especially from how obvious her sister was with her twinkling eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I've got it cousin. No need to try and show off." Bellatrix rolled her eyes, forcing herself to continue the act.

"More importantly, I called the both of you here to choose your formal dress robes at the same time. I won't tolerate the both of you showing up at my party underdressed, especially you, cousin." She shot a look at Sirius. "Don't think that you can just choose a plain tux and get over with it—Cissy doesn't mind it but I do. The party is an important affair, and I won't let you look like a rag in my face."

Groaning, Sirius exaggeratedly put his hands up in the air. "I give. Spare me the torture of your unrelenting nags…"

The rest of the time was spent picking out appropriate dress robes for the party. Once done picking out a suitable dress robe and transfigured it to fit their proportions, Sirius's heated eyes that ravenously swept over his robes made Lucius's heart skip a beat.

"Lucius, leave that robe on and wait for me in our room, would you?" Speaking close to his ears, Sirius's warm breath tickled his ears, fingers sweeping at the loose strands that fell from his forehead.

"Alright." Not questioning Sirius's intentions, Lucius agreed and didn't press Sirius to explain for he trusted him.

To that, Sirius felt appreciative and a little guilty while watching Lucius turning to leave the room. But just as Sirius thought that Lucius had left, all of the sudden he was drawn by the wrist and was met with Lucius's straight gaze.

"I don't need any explanations… I'll be waiting in your room."

Once Lucius said those words, he left the room.

To think that Lucius had noticed his guilt and even said those words to console him…

Sirius felt like he was falling for Lucius even more.

"Now…" Sirius adjusted his emotions, turning around and confronting the girl in white, expression subdued, a totally different person from earlier.

"Like you see, Lucius's my boyfriend." His eyes starred unnervingly at Nacrissa. "Are you planning to break us up?"

Nacrissa stared back complicatedly, about to speak when Sirius continued, interrupting her. "I'm curious. You already knew that he was my boyfriend but why didn't you do anything back then. Why now?"

"…" The mouth that was about to speak paused for a moment, before opening again.

"Because, from what I can tell, the two of you are already growing too close." She looked away, finding herself unable to face Sirius's eyes that pierced her, making her heart ache.

"I know that you love him, but there is the marriage contract with me—my mother won't allow it. If so, it would be better for you to break up with him before you involve yourself too deeply…"

Upon hearing Nacrissa's explanation, Sirius's eyes softened, understanding that he had wronged her for assuming that she was on her mother, Druella's side.

"It's too late." His tone was tender, tinged with a slight trace of resignation. The smile that he gave both Nacrissa and Bellatrix contained a trace of fear for losing of Lucius, but more of it was not wanting to give up no matter what.

"Look, Nacrissa, I appreciate your concern, but there's really no need to involve in our matters." Sirius said, giving a look to Bellatrix to keep an eye on her, who nodded back.

Leaving the room, he walked down the passageway towards his room, mind filled with all sorts of plans he had in mind for Lucius, unable to hide the perverted grin on his face when he spotted his father, whose expression was amiss.

Immediately, he had a bad feeling.

"Father? What's wrong?"

"Sirius…" Upon seeing his son, Orion's expression was mixed with many complex emotions.

In Sirius's room, Lucius discovered a locket that was hidden away in the drawers.

"This is…" Flipping the locket open, he discovered a folded-up letter inside that was addressed to Sirius.

 _To Sirius Orion Black,_

 _Forgive me for acting on impulse that day for not tolerating your friendship with James which in the end resulted our distanced relationship, but there's one thing that I'm sure of is that you're different from all of us – despite being born in a dark family, you thread on the path that you believe is right. However, that is also because you are easily influenced by things around you; and I'm not sure whether that is a good or a bad thing. All I can say is that if the day comes when what you believe turns out to be not what it seems, don't stop and follow what you believe is right._

 _R.A.B_

Lucius's brows furrowed together as he read the letter. If what he assumed was true that Regulus was with Voldermort, then what was Regulus trying to convey in the letter? And why was Regulus not tolerant of James?

Deep in thought, his thoughts were suddenly disrupted by the arms that wrapped around him, embracing him tightly from behind.

"Everything settled?"

"Mmm." Sirius replied, head burrowing into his neck, engulfed in Lucius's scent.

Instantly, Lucius felt that there was something wrong with Sirius. The arms that were around him continued to tighten, and he also noticed that Sirius's breath was shaky.

"What's wrong?"

"Let me… just let me stay like this for a while." Slowly as time passed, Sirius's breath became normal again and arms finally relaxed a little.

As if trying to divert what had just happened, Sirius directed his attention to the locket in Lucius's hands, eyes flashing in nostalgia.

"I see you have my brother's locket. He left this ontop my drawer before he disappeared… to Voldemort." He did not hide the resentment in his voice towards Voldemort.

"…" Lucius didn't say anything about the assumptions between Voldemort and Regulus relationship, especially since Voldemort warned not to reveal that he let Sirius go on Regulus's behalf.

Instead he asked, "Do you not like Voldemort?"

"He took my brother away from me." As Sirius answered, Lucius felt the arms around him tighten once more. "I don't want to lose you too." He whispered, his voice hoarse and almost inaudible.

Biting his lips, Lucius's resisted the tears that was about to appear, glad that Sirius was behind him and unable to see his face right now.

In fact, if he turned around, he would realize that their expressions were almost similar. Quickly adjusting his expression, Lucius turned around, interlacing his fingers together with Sirius.

"You can be assured that you won't lose me." Lucius pressed their interlaced hands against his chest where his heart was.

However, Sirius's expression did not show any joy, conversely, his eyes turned red at the rims.

But the next moment, his eyes hardened, as if having made a decision.

"Lucius. Do you want to elope?"

…

 _This morning, Black Manor._

The fireplace suddenly erupted, revealing a blonde shouldered length man dressed in elegant grey robes. There was a barely discernible frown as the man looked down at his robe that was covered in soot. Giving a quick pat of his robes, his eyes lit up upon seeing the three in the room.

"Greetings, Druella, Cygnus... and Orion." He gave a quick courteous nod to the couple, gaze landing onto the other man in the room.

"Rare for the three of us to meet outside of the pureblood parties. **"** He commented offhandedly, a small discernible nostalgic smile on his face that did not show his age, giving an impression that he was easy to talk to.

"Abraxas, it's nice to see you." Stepping forward to greet Abraxas was a lady that exuded a noble aura, dark curly hair laid back and elegantly flowing down her back.

Once everyone was done with all the complimentaries, Druella was the first to voice out.

"Orion, you were the one who arranged for this sudden meeting? What's the matter?" Voice firm and crisp, her blue eyes stared straight at Orion, personality carrying a more domineering edge, not losing to Abraxas in terms of charisma.

Ever since she married into the Black family and was let into the undisclosed fact that the Blacks were vampires; becoming a vampire herself, the Black family grew to become much more ambitious and overbearing ever since.

Orion found that the say in his family dropped rapidly and his close cousin, Cygnus, became more distant than ever, especially evident from how Cygnus only plainly nodded his way without asking his wellbeing despite having not met for a long time.

Under her scrutinizing gaze, Orion felt the pressure, but the thought of his son at the back of his mind invigorated him on.

Taking a deep breath, he spoke, "I called both of you and Abraxas—to discuss more of the marital arrangement that has been made regarding Nacrissa and Lucius."

Immediately, Druella's eyebrows creased together, clearly showing signs of displeasure. As for Cygnus, he directly sneered. Abraxas's face showed no emotions, except for the mocking gaze in his eyes.

Clearly, his words held no weight and was not taken seriously.

Foreseeing this reaction, Orion sighed and flicked a glance at the bookshelf, compelling himself to continue speaking, "I know I may not be in the place to say this, but I think both parties should give more thought to this martial arrangement."

A brief silence spread.

Bearing an amused look, Abraxas's eyes seemed to pierce into Orion's eyes, as if he could read his intentions. "Oh? What is it that you're trying to imply?"

Using Abraxas's question, Orion did not hesitate to grasp the opportunity to explain. "Instead of conforming to the traditional methods, I suggest to let our descendants have the freedom to choose their spouse-" He never got to continue for he was interrupted by Druella, who couldn't stand hearing any longer.

"Do you really understand what you're saying, Orion Black? Freedom? What significance does freedom hold in the face of the continuation of the legacy of our familia?" She rebuked in one single breath, glaring at Orion like he was a traitor and hurriedly turned to Abraxas.

"Abraxas, I apologize for showing such a disgraceful behaviour from one of ours, who not only wasted both our time and yours."

"It's alright." Abraxas raised his hand dismissively, not concealing his admiring gaze towards Druella, for not everybody was able take a step back to apologize given their high pride just so in order not to leave a bad impression on the Black family.

No wonder she was able to take charge of the Black family, unlike the other incompetent member of the Black family in front of him.

Taking several steps towards the man in front of him, he asked, "How's my son?"

If not having known his true nature, there was no doubt that Orion would've been deceived by the genuine care and concern in his eyes.

Not knowing what Abraxas had in mind, Orion immediately grew wary, answering cautiously. "He's in the good hands of my son."

A flash of contempt passed over Abraxas's features, lips curling up. He extracted his wand out, casting a sound barrier over the both of them.

"I guess Lucius hasn't told you—there's isn't any point in trying conceal the relationship between our sons. I already know everything."

Disbelief crossed over Orion's features, followed by his eyes narrowing in anger.

"Lucius… what did he promise you?"

If Abraxas already knew, then did he have in mind for Lucius to ensure the separation of their sons?

"Hmph. Looks like you're not as incompetent as I thought." He glanced towards Orion, slightly surprised for he did not expect that Orion could catch up with his train of thought, but that was it. Looking at the face that bore an infuriated expression that was for his son, Abraxas almost wanted to sneer, this man only saw what was on the surface.

Adjusting his expression, Abraxas coldly said, "I merely promised Lucius who requested to spend this break with your son one last time, in return for his enrolment to Durmstang."

Even though Orion had been prepared after hearing Abraxas's words, he could not help the bitterness and guilt that filled him, for indirectly, his son was the cause for this.

"That poor child…" He couldn't help but mutter.

Abraxas's eyebrows lifted. "… Poor child? Ahhh, we'll see." He said in mocking tone.

A/N: Constructive feedbacks are appreciated.


	11. V1C11 - Negotiation & Breakout

_A/N: Quite a difficult chapter to write, to be honest._

 _A few days before the break._

Through the floo network, Abraxas stared at his son in disbelief from the fireplace, wondering if he had heard wrongly.

Go to the Black's mansion during the break?

Since when did he and Sirius go so close together?

The tender look in Lucius's eyes while mentioning Sirius did not escape Abraxas's notice. Immediately, everything clicked into place. No wonder Lucius had been avoiding looking him in the eyes since last summer.

Even though Lucius knew that his feelings were exposed, he didn't show any anxiety nor fear in his expression.

Abraxas's eyes narrowed, wondering what his son was plotting.

"Father, let me be with Sirius…"

"You know I can't allow that because of the marriage contract." Abraxas interrupted coldly. "Why ask me repeatedly when you know it's futile… you're not that foolish." His brows knitted together, watching Lucius's icy blue eyes, waiting for his answer, for the look in his eyes showed that he hadn't given up yet.

Lucius took a deep breath, steadying himself before speaking.

"Iza."

Immediately, the look in his Abraxas's eyes changed into one of seriousness, eyes flickering while staring at Lucius.

Indeed, what was it that made Abraxas lose his composure like this?

Abraxas was silent for a while.

"How did you know that name?" Abraxas started, managing to cover up the wavering in his voice.

"All I know – is that 'Iza' and the marriage contract with the Black family are linked." Lucius stared straight into the eyes of his father.

This time, Abraxas wasn't able to hide the astonishment that rose to the surface as disbelief contorted his features.

"… And judging by your reaction, it's true, isn't it?"

There was a flash of understanding upon hearing his son's words. He had just been played by his son.

It was a gamble.

"Hahahaha…" Even though outwitted by his son, there wasn't a trace of discontent. In fact, it was the opposite, there was pride in Abraxas's eyes when looking at Lucius.

Lucius, on the other hand, was taken aback by his father's sudden laughter, for the first time seeing his father this happy. He hadn't seen his father smile properly (not taking into account smirks) ever since he was born.

For a moment, Lucius thought he saw a soft and reminiscing expression crossing Abraxas's features when staring at his face.

"Where did you hear that name?" Before he knew it, his father's tone was cold and distant like the usual, as if the warmth that he displayed was a mirage.

"When you were asleep."

"… Is that so…" Abraxas's face didn't react much, only nodding, expression shifting to a contemplating look. "I won't ask how you managed to link the both of them together, just tell me what you have in mind…" His lips curled up. "Even though I can already guess—You want to use the marriage contract as a leverage to be with Sirius, am I right?"

Lucius's heart skipped erratically, trying to keep his emotions from showing on his face, even though his father had already acquired the upper hand by exposing his intentions.

"No need to be so wary, son. As long as you propose a deal that I'm unable to refuse." When Abraxas spoke, eyes bearing slight curiosity as to what his son had in mind.

"Father, you don't look in the mirror much, do you?" Lucius suddenly asked.

"What?" Perplexed by the sudden question that seemed hardly related to the topic, Abraxas's brows furrowed, not sure what he was getting at.

"I've noticed that over the years, you've been looking much older—the grey streaks in your hair, visible eye wrinkles…" Lucius spoke slowly, waiting for his father to internalise his words. "All the time spent in the basement, father, you've been dabbling in blood magic—at least, that's what I assume." He continued, eyeing his father's reaction. "Am I right?"

Even though emotions were stirring tumultuously within Abraxas, he controlled himself, not allowing his expression to change. But what was more astonishing to him was how observant his son was.

While bearing an unreadable expression, Abraxas nodded, confirming Lucius's suspicions.

When Lucius was young, he had noticed that his father carried blood scent, especially when he just came out of the basement. After meeting Sirius and learning about blood magic, he put the two and two together. As for his father's accelerated ageing, he suspected that it had to do with the side-effects of performing blood magic as a human, which resulted in a loss of vitality.

"Three years. Let me be with Sirius for three years. In return, I'll help and provide you blood for your experiments." As if afraid that his father would reject, Lucius added, "Don't worry, after that I'll properly marry into the Black family." Even though Lucius did not know why his father was adamant on the arranged marriage, he knew it was important for he would always remind him of it.

 _A_ braxas's eyes wavered, moved by the extent that Lucius was willing to go to be with Sirius and almost relented, allowing them to be together, but the thought of his hard work that would go to waste and experiments that just needed the last push to succeed held him back.

He never thought that his son would agree to the marriage contract so easily in this manner, expecting that he would put up much more of a struggle. Following this train of thought, he should be delighted, yet there wasn't any sense of joy nor attainment.

Abraxas inadvertently let out a sigh. If Iza was here, she would probably be reproaching him for forcing Lucius to marry against his will. However, he definitely needed the books for blood magic.

Eyes less cold, Abraxas spoke, "You do not need to help in my experiments." He paused for a moment, hesitating. "I suppose it's time to tell you… maybe you've already guessed—Iza is your mother." But before Lucius could even absorb this information, an even shocking revelation spilled from his mouth.

"She's an elf."

Without looking at Lucius's reaction, Abraxas continued without pausing, absorbed in his own narrative, as if he had wanted to convey these events for a long time.

"About nineteen years ago, the elves suddenly came out of hiding in search of powerful, sacred artefacts in order to sustain the tree of life, offering a leaf of the tree of life in return. They approached representatives of the existing factions, including Dumbledore and Voldemort.

However, instead of accepting the deal, Dumbledore had something different in mind…"

Winter, 1950

A silvery figure swooped down, landing on the dark, granite pavement, his face deathly pale, hair, eyebrows and short beard frozen, with small shards of ice stuck to them.

Swiping out his wand, he quickly cast a warm spell that slightly eased his stiff expression, regaining blood in his face, but his expression remained grave when looking up at the dark, looming tower ahead.

Walking up to the gates, the two guards stationed looked at him warily, wand at hand, poised to attack at any moment.

"Who are you?"

Under the blanket of darkness, unable to make out the stranger's features, both guards held their breaths as the footsteps grew nearer.

"Lumos!"

The illumination from the guard's wand pierced the darkness, the two guards narrowed their eyes, trying to make out the stranger's face.

"Now, now, there's no need to be wary, the both of you. I'm Albus Dumbledore."

When finally taking a good look at the stranger's face, the two guards glanced at each other, eyes filled with disbelief and distrust.

Evidently, from the look on their faces, they didn't believe it was the real Dumbledore.

"If you are Dumbledore, why are you here at Nurmengard?" The guard sounded out his apprehensions, staring at the stranger. "We never heard of any visitors that was coming to Nurmengard during this period."

Seeing as how the guard did not believe his words, Dumbledore sighed in resignation and searched his robes.

"Where have I put it… Aha! I was lucky to have thought to bring this." He opened his hand, revealing what he had extracted from his bosom.

It was a golden round badge with an inverted W that hung on the balance scales.

"Wiz-Wizengamot…" The guard stuttered, face flickering with disbelief, staring at the badge in his hand intently.

If this person was really Dumbledore, then behind it was…

Both guards gulped.

As if knowing their intentions, the badge was flipped over, revealing the inscription behind that gleamed in gold letters.

 _Albus Dumbledore, Chief Warlock._

Sensing the magic behind the letters, all their doubts disappeared. Both guards collected their expressions immediately.

"Forgive our disrespectfulness, Sir Dumbledore, but we didn't expect…"

"It's alright." Dumbledore waved one hand, interrupting his sentence, getting to the point at once. "There is someone I have to visit in Nurmengard urgently, so I'll appreciate if you would let me in."

One guard tried to rebuke but wavered when confronted by Dumbledore's blue eyes. Even though Dumbledore was Chief Warlock, he didn't have the authority to enter Nurmengard without permission.

Remaining indecisive, both guards didn't react when Dumbledore stepped past them.

"The gates, if you would open them, please."

Under Dumbledore's determined gaze, the guard relented, muttering, "Let's hope I don't get into trouble for this."

While the guard was opening the gates, the other guard could not resist asking in curiosity.

"Who're you visiting?" When he asked, for a moment there, he thought he saw Dumbledore's eyes flash in sentiment.

"… The highest cell."

…

The creak of the door woke him up from his shallow sleep. In the darkness, unfamiliar footsteps approached where he was in the cell. Gradually, the footsteps grew nearer, till he was able to see the person's face from the moonlight that shone through the small hole in the cell above him.

There was a surprised look on his face before he started laughing like a madman.

"Hehe… hahahaha!"

There was a certain confidence in his tone. "Have you come to take me away?"

"Never thought I'd be seeing you in this manner, Gellert." Dumbledore's eyes took in Grindelward's dishelved appearance, clothes worn out and torn, all traces of his previous noble dignified impression gone, except for his two different coloured eyes that looked the same as ever. Dumbledore looked away for a moment, unable to bear seeing the state of his past acquaintance rotting away in the cell.

The corner of Gellert's mouth briefly turned up when he recognized the hidden emotions in Dumbledore's eyes that he had tried to conceal.

"Well? What do you think?" Spreading out his hands, Gellert looked towards Dumbledore. "Abysmal? Deplorable?" He asked, grinning, revealing his decaying teeth and bony arms beneath his robes.

His gaze caused guilt to stir in Dumbledore, reminding him that he was the reason for causing Gellert to end up in this manner.

After indirectly causing the death of his sister, Ariana by his own hands, he once again cursed the people by his side, defeating Gellert that led him to be confined in this tower.

Dumbledore took in a deep breath.

Yes, he could never redeem himself to the both of them. Especially his sister.

But…

"There are rumours of the elves' Tree of Life being able to cleanse the darkness in one's soul…" Dumbledore started, eyeing Gellert steadily. "I've come here because I believe that the Tree of Life can help in your path to redemption, by correcting your twisted perception of the Greater Good so that you can lead a new life."

In response, Gellert looked back at Dumbledore like he was crazy.

"So you came all the way here, telling me that there's a way for me to redeem myself?" He laughed, taking several steps and meeting Dumbledore straight in the eye. "What if I say no?" He asked in a jokingly manner, but his eyes were unsmiling.

Dumbledore's face grew serious. "Then, you'll be confined in this cell for the rest of your life."

"Knew you'd say that, Albus."

There were hints of his strikingly attractive features despite his unkempt appearance when he smiled, especially his dark and grey coloured eyes that momentarily left Dumbledore dazed and absent-minded, recalling back to the times when they were naïve and young.

His hand shot out, caressing Dumbledore's face. "Looks like you grew some wrinkles while I was not around. Must've been hard, leading the Wizarding World and carrying all that weight around…" He chastised, right hand slowly sliding down his chest, but not before it was grabbed by Dumbledore abruptly.

"What do you think you're doing?" Dumbledore's voice was sharp, eyeing Gellert suspiciously.

"Taking your wand."

At once, Gellert pulled back his hand, causing Dumbledore to lose his balance and stagger forward. Using the interval while Dumbledore was trying to regain his balance, Gellert's other hand moved quickly, diving into his robes to retrieve his wand.

The moment he felt his fingers grabbing ahold of the wand, he pointed to Dumbledore's chest.

"Stupefy!"

Dumbledore's body flew back with force, body collapsing against the wall with a loud thud. All that was left was the sound of Gellert's loud breaths that reverberated in the cell.

"That was close…" Gellert looked at Dumbledore that lay unconscious on the floor. "Now…" Fingers playing with the wand in his hand, he laid his eyes on the wand that he was once his.

The Elder Wand.

"As I thought, Albus had the Elder Wand after he won against me in the duel." His hand caressed the wand lovingly. "Seems like it's fate that you belong to me in the end."

When looking back at Dumbledore, a conniving smirk appeared on his face.

…

"Sir, have you finished your business with…" The guard asked timidly while craning his neck, eyes flickering towards the top of the tower, not daring to say the dark wizard's name that once made the Wizarding World tremble at his feet.

'Dumbledore' turned back to look towards the top of the tower whilst bearing a wistful look in his eyes. "Yes, well, I just came to visit since he was my past acquaintance."

"W-wwwhat did you say?" Both guard's eyes widened in shock, first time hearing about the relationship between one of the most powerful wizards and dark wizard of all time.

The guards' reaction amused 'Dumbledore', especially since the Dark Wizard that they feared so much was currently right in front of them.

"Keep it a secret, will you?" 'Dumbledore' winked and proceeded to walk out of the gates.

Walking out of Nurmengard, 'Dumbledore' robes fluttered as he looked up to the grey and cloudy sky, smiling, for finally, he was liberated out of that place.


End file.
